Abhijit Kundu (Headmaster)
In September 2018, a movement began at Darivit School in Islampur, North Dinajpur, West Bengal, demanding the appointment of a Bengali language teacher. The students began their agitation in protest of the appointment of Urdu-language teachers instead of Bengali teachers, despite the absence of a Bengali teacher.[1][2] In opposition to such injustice against the Bengali nation, students of the school who cherished their mother tongue—both current and former—along with other youth of the village and groups of guardians, jointly participated in the movement. On 20 September 2018, the police resorted to baton charge and opened fire on the protestors.[3] As a result, movement participants Rajesh Sarkar[4] and Tapas Barman[5] were killed.[6][7] Additionally, a tenth-grade student, Biplab Sarkar, was shot and wounded—he was hit in the leg.[8]
Despite the necessity for a teacher in the subject of Bengali at Daribhit High School in the Islampur Block, an Urdu teacher was appointed instead of a Bengali teacher.[1] Thereafter, the students erupted in outrage. They initiated a movement in protest of the appointment of an Urdu teacher, even though there was not a single Urdu-medium student in the school.[9]
In protest against the appointment of the Urdu teacher and in demand for a Bengali teacher, the students began demonstrating by blockading the state highway adjacent to the school.[9] Although the acting headmaster of the school initially assured them that the Urdu teacher would not be brought to the school, when the Urdu teachers attempted to assume duty, the students remained adamant in their demand and did not allow the Urdu teachers to join the institution. Later, when the police arrived, the educational institution turned into a battlefield over this issue.[4] In protest of this incident, the civil society of West Bengal held a protest march in Kolkata.[10] Additionally, a 12-hour general strike was called in protest.[11]