Amra Bangali

Amra Bangali symbol

Amra Bangali ('AMB) (Bengali: আমরা বাঙালী; translation: We are Bengalis) is a radical Bengali political party in India. Founded by renowned philosopher Prabhat Ranjan Sarkar;[1] the party was sparked off in reaction against anti-Bengali rhetoric in Indian politics that characterised Bengalis as infiltrators in Northeast India.[2] Amra Bangali enjoyed a short stint in the spotlight in the mid-eighties when it even won some gram panchayat seats in border districts.[1] Today, AMB is involved in various movements and protests including those against the Darjeeling Gorkhas calling for the creation of new state of Gorkhaland.[3]

The politics of Amra Bangali is based on Sarkar's ideas of economic and political democracy. The party is organized in West Bengal, as well as in other states with large Bengali populations such as Tripura, Bihar, Odisha, Assam and Jharkhand. The only real political breakthrough the party has had was in Tripura during the 1980s, when the party entered the Legislative Assembly in connection with the mounting ethnic tensions in the state.

The aims and objects of Amra Bangali include:

Few radical elements of AMB have also suggested the re-organization of the territory of Bengal with all the like minded people having respect for Bengali language and culture and giving a new name “Bangalistan” to this territory.[3]

In West Bengal, Amra Bengali has vandalised signs in railway stations, obscuring English and Hindi place names with black tar, so that only the Bengali name remains visible.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Who are the Amra Bangalis?". Indian Express. 13 Jun 2008. Retrieved 11 January 2013.
  2. ↑ Van Schendel, Willem (2005). The Bengal Borderland: Beyond State and Nation in South Asia. Anthem Press. p. 197. ISBN 978-1-84331-145-4. Bengali-speaking Indian citizens living in Northeast India ... resented being portrayed as infiltrators ... Fearing for their position, they began creating organizations to protect their interests, e.g. 'Amra Bangali' ... 'If the eviction of Bengalis from Assam does not stop, all Bengal will be set afire!' Slogan of the political group Amra Bangali ... 1981.
  3. 1 2 Khawas, Vimal. "Amra Bangali and its philosophy". Retrieved 28 August 2014.
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