Kolkata International Book Fair: 'No NRC' theme at Left bookstall

The new slogan of the Communist Party of India (Marxist)'s politburo is "Kagaz nahi dikhayenge" or "We will not show papers". Accordingly, this is also the new theme of the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI)'s bookstall at the 44th Kolkata International Book Fair 2020.

The theme, which brandishes itself as the protest against the new citizenship act in India, was spotted at the Left political organisation's stall at the bookfair this week. The DYFI is a Left-affiliated democratic youth organisation in India.

DYFI has arranged its bookstall completely portraying anti-NRC and anti-CAA messages. In this regard, DYFI state committee member Kalotan Dasgupta said, "Not just us, the whole country is now saying 'Kagaz nahi dikhayenge', we will not show our papers."

Dasgupta added that the party wants to spread this message further around and therefore chose the book fair as an ideal cultural spot to disseminate the message. "The Kolkata Book Fair has always played a major role in our society," he explained.

It is true that the Kolkata International Book Fair has represented a diverse array of political views, every year. Its bookstalls become cultural venues for the dissemination of ideas. Not just bibliophiles, many tourists visit the Kolkata International Book Fair every year during this time as well.

One such bibliophile, Rahul Ganguly, said, "The concept is very good. Only the Kolkata Book Fair can share different views in one ground."

However, mocking it, BJP leader Sayantan Basu said, "The Left do not have any mass base, who cares about their book fair theme".