Jaynagar and R G Kar -Tale of Two Tragedies
Explore the contrasting responses to two tragic incidents in West Bengal – the horrific assault and murder of a nine-year-old girl in Jaynagar and the brutal killing of a doctor at RG Kar Hospital.
The curious case of public outcry—or rather, the lack thereof. It’s almost like comparing chalk and cheese, isn’t it? Take R G Kar, a tragedy that shook Kolkata to its very core, and compare it with the horror that unfolded in the far-flung Jaynagar—an equally grotesque crime involving a nine-year-old girl. Yet, the responses couldn’t be more different. One becomes the rallying cry of a city, while the other fades into a distant echo. Let’s have a proper chinwag about why Jaynagar’s tragedy has become little more than a footnote while R G Kar still has the city fuming.
To give you the lowdown, R G Kar is the name on every lip in Calcutta. Seventy days on, and the protest banners still flutter in the city breeze, with cries of “Justice for R G Kar” cutting through the air. But cast your eyes 56 kilometres beyond the city limits, and Jaynagar—where a little girl was horrifically assaulted and killed—hasn’t stirred the same reaction. One might wonder if there’s an invisible barrier that keeps the righteous fury of Kolkata’s citizens locked within city limits, as though outrage were a resource that dries up beyond the borders of the metropolitan.
When the slogans rang out, ‘Your voice, my voice,’ about five per cent of the protesters could be heard adding, ‘Jaynagar to R G Kar’. But the vast majority? Oh, they were firmly rooted in their ‘Justice for R G Kar’ chants, leaving Jaynagar dangling in the periphery. The symbolism is stark: R G Kar shockwaves may have reached the city’s streets, but Jaynagar, much like many a rural area, has been left in the dust.
So, why has R G Kar resonated so deeply with Kolkatans while Jaynagar has been relegated to the background? Some say it’s the nature of the victims; the R G Kar incident involved a doctor—someone society often holds in high esteem. Others argue that R G Kar’s proximity to Kolkata itself is the crucial factor. After all, news tends to carry more weight when it happens in your own backyard. As CPM leader Kanti Ganguly sagely put it, “Place matters. The media gets all in a tizzy over Calcutta, but the districts? They’re lucky to get a mention.” Quite right, old chap. It’s location, location, location.
Then there’s the political angle. At a recent protest in Jaynagar, there were thousands rallying under the banner of “citizens’ society,” yet behind the scenes, it was the usual suspects—politicians pulling the strings. One politician who made a point of being at both R G Kar and Jaynagar, freely admits that R G Kar simply has more emotional pull because it’s a Calcutta story. “People are shaken because it’s in their city,” she said, not mincing her words. She might be on to something. Jaynagar? That’s miles away—out of sight, out of mind, I suppose.
Professor Jaydeep Ghosh from Jadavpur University would agree. For him, the “distance factor” is key. “Floods in the districts don’t get half the coverage that a bit of rain in Calcutta does. It’s the same with everything—district pujas, district theatre, district tragedies.” Spot on, Professor. There’s an unfortunate hierarchy in how we react to crises, and it seems the city always comes first.
It’s a sorry state of affairs, really. Despite the brutal nature of the crime in Jaynagar, it simply didn’t get the same emotional backing as R G Kar . Some argue it’s because the victim in R G Kar was a professional, someone perceived as serving society. Others, like psychologist Anuttama Banerjee, suggest it’s easier for people to empathise with the R G Kar victim because she was a working adult in an urban environment—someone city folk might identify with more easily. But hold your horses—a child was the victim in Jaynagar, and surely that should pull at the heartstrings even more?
Despite a few noble attempts to unite the causes of R G Kar and Joynagar, the chasm between city and district persists. Some junior doctors from the R G Kar protests did visit the home of the Joynagar victim, and a few “Justice for Joynagar” banners even found their way to the protest sites. But the cold, hard truth remains: Joynagar is, to many, a far-off land—a distant planet, almost, with its tragedies left untold.
It’s clear, then, that the weight of a tragedy doesn’t just lie in the horror of the act itself but in where it takes place and who the victim is perceived to be. A tragedy in Calcutta ? That’ll make headlines. A tragedy in a village miles away? Well, don’t hold your breath.
And so, here we are. R G Kar continues to rage in the hearts of Calcuttans , while Joynagar’s sorrow drifts away like yesterday’s news. But if we’re honest with ourselves, shouldn’t we be just as outraged for Joynagar? After all, injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere—no matter where it happens.
Fancy a cup of tea after all that? Feels like we could all do with one.
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