Kotiary is a nondescript village in the Naxalbari block of West Bengal’s Darjeeling district. It is on the Indian side of the Mechi river that borders Nepal. While Naxalbari was well-known for decades for being the epicentre of the Naxal movement, Kotiary came into the limelight because of a high-profile visit in 2017. Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who was then the BJP president, chose to have lunch with a dalit family here. The house is not far from the statues of the Naxal legends.
Raju Mahali and his wife, Geeta, were elated yet nervous when they heard that Shah wanted to lunch in their hut. It was the first such meal that Shah would have with a dalit family in West Bengal. It would be the place from where he launched Operation Lotus in the state; from a region close to the hearts of many liberal Bengalis.
“He wanted to saffronise Bengal from Naxalbari,” said a BJP vice president in Bengal. “He knew that the Naxalbari movement had turned 50 one year before that.” But Shah was not there to celebrate the movement, rather to inflict damage on the ideology.
During the meal, Shah shared a brief conversation with Geeta and Raju. “Perhaps he wanted to talk more. But he could not because of the massive crowd outside. He promised to speak to us later,” said Geeta. The couple never got to speak to Shah again after that, but it was the start of a new life for them. The day after Shah’s visit, Trinamool Congress Cabinet Minister Gautam Deb arrived at the house of the Mahalis for a cup of tea. Deb then took the couple to a local party office and gave them party flags.
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