FIR filed against veteran journalist Atin Das for controversial remarks on Mahatma Gandhi

The founder of Silchar Press Club and veteran journalist, Atin Das, finds himself embroiled in a growing controversy after his recent statements about Mahatma Gandhi sparked outrage. An FIR has been lodged by the Cachar District Youth Congress at Silchar Sadar Police Station, alleging that Das’s remarks were offensive and disrespectful.

Das made a statement on Mahatma Gandhi at a programme which was later published on August 15 in Bengali newspaper Dainik Samayik Prasanga. He referred to Mahatma Gandhi as “a spy of British” and controversially claimed that Gandhi was responsible for the partition of India. The article, appearing on the third page of the newspaper, triggered a strong adverse reaction among the residents of Cachar as per the FIR.

The FIR application, filed by Youth Congress member Ranjit Debnath, underscored the public’s sense of dishonor due to the article’s content. Speaking to reporters at the Police Station, Youth Congress members went so far as to label Atin Das as a successor to Nathuram Godse, the assassin of Mahatma Gandhi. They issued an ultimatum of 24 hours to the police for the arrest of Atin Das, warning that the local administration would bear responsibility for any potential breach of law and order.

Atin Das expressed his controversial statements during a programme held on August 14. Speaking to reporters he said that the belief of Gandhi being a leader of non-violence was false because he supported the violent activities of Britishers. During his stay in South Africa, Gandhi supported the Britishers during the Boer war. Netaji had to leave India because of Gandhi. If Netaji had stayed in India then the country would not be divided. Muhammad Ali Jinnah was irked at the behaviour of Gandhi and Nehru. He only had respect and full faith on Netaji. The National Security Advisor of India Ajit Doval recently said in a speech that the country wouldn’t be divided if Netaji was present. Gandhi used to sit on hunger strikes for petty matters, but despite so many people killed and dislodged from their ancestral homes due to the partition of India, he never sat on a hunger strike against the division