India – RSF:Statement Against the New ‘Rowlatt Act’ in West Bengal
We hereby share an unofficial translation of a statement from the Revolutionary Students Front (RSF)
Statement by the Revolutionary Students Front (RSF): The New ‘Rowlatt Act’ Passed by the West Bengal Assembly is a Law of Fascist Hooliganism
On June 29th, 2026, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government of West Bengal passed two bills named ‘West Bengal Public Safety and Control of Anti-Social Activities Bill’ and ‘the West Bengal Maintenance of Public Order (Amendment) Bill’ in the Legislative Assembly. Together they are being promoted under the name of ‘Gunda Daman Act’ [Translator’s note: ‘gunda’ or ‘goonda’ refers to hired criminals or gangsters and ‘daman’ is to fight]. This is the first time such an undemocratic law has been enacted in any state after Maharashtra. According to this act, the police are empowered to detain any person without trial for up to one year purely on the orders of the BJP government, the District Magistrate or the Police Commissioner. The government can even confiscate that person’s property. On top of that, that person can be expelled from a specified area. The aggrieved person cannot go to court. That fundamental right has also been taken away. In addition, the government will decide what will be considered as the qualifications or criteria for being a ‘gunda’. Also, the police are empowered to search any place only ‘on suspicion’. According to the government, thugs and anti-social elements can be punished through this law. But behind this false mask lies the real intention of the BJP government.
This bill, passed under the name of ‘fighting gansters’, is actually the ‘New Rowlatt Act’ [Translators note: refers to the colonial Rowlatt Act which jailed freedom fighters without trial], a despicable plan to destroy the anti-ruler politics of Bengal. The Brahminical Hindutva Fascist RSS-BJP government is eager to use its rule as a means to fulfill its fascist agenda across Bengal. From the day they came to power, the BJP ‘thugs’ and their government have been attacking the poor people of the state one after the other. We have seen hawkers and small traders being evicted from state stations with the help of the police and paramilitary forces. In the dead of night, longtime business premises and homeless shelters have been bulldozed. In no case was compensation provided. Again, BJP thugs have led this eviction campaign. Left-wing political activists protesting were baton-charged with lathis and arrested.
On the other hand, the government has been interfering, one after another, with the religious rights of the minorities. Again, Bengali schools are being handed over to the religious organization ISKCON (International Society for Krishna Consciousness) and foreign food habits are being forced on the children, which is to deprive the children of the necessary nutrition, along with the overall privatization of the education sector. In the meantime, we have seen that 51 government Industrial Training Institutes have been announced to be handed over to private hands in the name of development. All this is an expression of the beginning of the fascistization of the state organization, society and the people.
As soon as the BJP government comes to power, it is not shying away from showing its violent face, because, in their view, there is no parliamentary opposition in the state. Trinamool, the main opposition party, has split into factions and is desperate to join the BJP. At the moment, the only political opposition to the BJP is left-wing political activists and students, and the BJP is determined to attack this segment. A few days ago, we saw that the government tried to intimidate left-wing political workers, including the general secretary of Biplabhi Chhatra Front, by sending terrorist NIA (National Investigation Agency) to their homes. All this is to make the state devoid of opposition and pave the way for using the state and its people in the interests of imperialism. For that purpose, Shuvendu Adhikari, who wants to create a model of Hindi-Hindu-Hindustan, now wants to arrest the public on false charges even for the slightest opposition. Recently, two YouTubers were arrested in the state for questioning the government. In the name of finding goons, innocent people and political activists will be the victims of this law, instead of the ‘goons’ found throughout the BJP Party, like Sajal Ghosh, Kartik Maharaj, rioters, thugs, criminals who took bribes from ‘Narda’ and leaders who made religiously inflammatory comments. This act is the successor to the Rowlatt Act, Afspa, NIA, UAPA.
Its main goal is to silence the voices protesting the ongoing oppression of the marginalized people across Bengal, the violation of human rights and democratic rights one after the other, and to make the illegal actions of the government recognized as law. Otherwise, multiple anti-people policies, including NRC, will be implemented in the near future by suppressing public protests with this law. The most urgent call today is to block this law that paves the way for the fulfillment of the fascist agenda through government agencies. We, on behalf of the Revolutionary Students Front (RSF), strongly oppose this new anti-gunda law. This act is a complete anti-people conspiracy, which wants to make Bengal a den of terror and a model state of fascism by making it opposition-free. Acts like UAPA, NIA, AFSPA along with the anti-gunda law, must be repealed immediately. This attack on the employment of common people, and the nutrition and food habits of children must be stopped immediately. Privatization of education must be stopped. We call upon all anti-fascist, progressive, democratic, left-wing organizations and individuals, workers, peasants, students, youth, women, minorities, Dalits, tribals and the masses to form a united militant mass movement against this law.
