A library photo of an Islamic monument in Murshidabad.

By Zafarul-Islam Khan, IOL Correspondent

NEW DELHI , March 28, 2005 (IslamOnline.net) - Indian Muslims in the Murshidabad district, West Bengals, are starving to death, while the provisional and central governments are playing blind, fact-finding missions revealed on Sunday, March 27.

Due to the erosion of lifeline Ganga river in the area, which devastated vast swathes of fertile land, about 1000 families in six villages are facing starvation, according to missions sent by the two Muslim organizations, Zakat Foundation of India and Markazul Maarif.

The English-language newspaper Milli Gazette has decided to file a public interest litigation (PIL) case in the Supreme Court of India to force the central and state authorities to work for the long-term rehabilitation of the affected population.

PIL is a revolutionary legal prevision which allows citizens to go directly to the highest court in matters of public interest.

Murshidabad used to be the capital of Muslim Bengal before the advent of the British colonial rule.

It was so prosperous and rich that Lord Clive, the commander of the British invasion troops, described it as bigger than London and had more rich people.

Two centuries of British loot and half a century of local misrule, including two and a half decades of communist rule, have impoverished the state.

Deafening Silence

The government inaction has drawn string criticism from local newspapers, which accused authorities of papering over the reported catastrophe.

“Starvation Deaths: Dubious Games Marxists Play,” read an editorial published by the Statesman of Kolkata earlier in the month.

The paper accused the Marxist party, which has been ruling West Bangals over the last 28 years, of intimidating media and journalists.

“It is a matter of shame that the government in power in West Bengal for the last 28 years is moving heaven and earth to adopt dubious and coercive tactics, including lies and terror, to deny starvation deaths,” it wrote.

The party attributed the deaths to old age and chronic diseases.

But the paper rejected the claims as a bid to hide the truth to save its prestige ahead of the crucial municipal election.

“Even the march undertaken by the starving to the [government] BDO office failed to evoke the expected response underlining heartlessness and hypocrisy. But, they did not forget to collect party levies, running into thousands.”