The Save Bengal Journey, which began on November 29 from the Char of Raidak (the Dol Mela ground in Tufanganj), witnessed 19 sunrises and traversed 11 districts before concluding at BT Road in Belgharia. Even before independence, Belgharia witnessed the labour movement of 1938 and saw the red flag at the gates of the jute mills. The struggle to save Bengal today is the inheritor of that flowing stream of the communist movement. Now the industrial belt has been fragmented into pieces. This Bangla Bachao Yatra resonated not just as a translation of crisis, but as a determined proclamation to build a new Bengal with the Left's guidance by presenting alternatives along its path from Tufanganj, through tea gardens, forest villages, border towns, Bengal's villages stricken with agrarian crisis, the anguish of migrant labourers, lives trapped in the vortex of microfinance, lives uncertain in the grip of river erosion, to the arid, faded industrial townships.

In the last 14 years, the Trinamool Congress's governance and political activities have aided the growth of RSS/BJP in the state. Furthermore, in every sphere of corruption, misrule, and hooliganism, the Trinamool Congress and the BJP complement each other. Both are playing a role in creating an atmosphere of communal hatred and division in the state's society, politics, and culture, as per the RSS agenda. Recent experience has shown that by utilising an environment of communal hatred, division, and polarisation, RSS/BJP and Trinamool Congress have created a political polarisation or binary in West Bengal. During the Left Front government's time, agricultural development led to an improved standard of living. It was on the basis of this development that the struggle for industrialisation was waged. The failure of the Trinamool Congress government and the reign of a powerful, all pervasive lootocracy in the state, similar to the BJP's rule nationwide, has attacked and devastated the state's economy and the livelihood demands of the common people. Through the combined efforts of RSS/BJP and Trinamool Congress, the secular, democratic, pluralistic, and liberal atmosphere in West Bengal's society, politics, and cultural sphere has been attacked. The 2026 Assembly elections are approaching. The RSS has already become extremely active in all spheres. RSS/BJP and Trinamool Congress are desperate to once again strengthen the issues of communal hatred and division in the state's political climate. Like previous elections, BJP and Trinamool Congress have taken specific plans to reap political gains centering these issues of hatred and division. RSS/BJP's activities have also increased after the elections in Bihar. In this context, the Bangla Bachao Yatra has been organised with the call to reestablish the demands for economic, social, cultural development, and the livelihood of the common people as the Left alternative, replacing the environment of hatred and division in West Bengal's social, political, and cultural spheres.

A significant participation of working class people marked in Tufanganj on the first day. This gathering had representation from the social fabric of the concerned region. Before the rally, two processions were organised in Tufanganj town. As a prelude programme on November 28, a tribute programme was held at the birthplaces of Thakur Panchanan Verma and Bhawaiya singer Abbasuddin Ahmed. This programme had a positive impact. The Trinamool Congress tried to obstruct this programme. On the day of the Tufanganj rally, one of our comrades was attacked by Trinamool Congress hooligans. The attacked comrade participated in the rally with courage.

Over 19 days, the Save Bengal Journey traversed various areas of Cooch Behar, Alipurduar, Jalpaiguri, Darjeeling, North Dinajpur, South Dinajpur, Malda, Murshidabad, Nadia, East Burdwan, Hooghly, and North 24 Parganas, culminating with a rally in Kamarhati on December 17. Birbhum, East Burdwan, and Howrah joined the Bangla Bachao Yatra with motorcycle rallies. West Burdwan organised marches as part of the journey, keeping class fronts at the forefront. In Bankura, Purulia, Paschim Medinipur, Jhargram, and Purba Medinipur districts, journeys were held as part of the Bangla Bachao Yatra. After organising campaigns in various parts of Kolkata district, a central procession from Sinthi to Kamarhati was organised on December 17. South 24 Parganas district had planned panchayat-based journeys. Efforts were made to build campaigns by linking livelihood demands and locally achievable demands with the Bangla Bachao Yatra. Campaigns were organised across various regions of the state based on the issues raised before the programme and local issues. The Bangla Bachao Yatra became the blueprint for building movements at district and local levels by connecting state and local issues.

The anguish of Bengal's people emerged repeatedly during this journey. It became even more poignant when the mother of Abhaya (the medical student who was raped and murdered at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital) welcomed the Bangla Bachao Yatra and, holding Minakshi Mukherjee's hand, the bereaved mother said, "We will be on the streets not just for justice for my daughter's rape and murder, but in protest against any such atrocity on any woman. We will keep fighting till the end, you are also on the streets. We must fight."

The echo of this plea from the bereaved mother of the RG Kar victim was heard on the 13th day of the Save Bengal Journey in Palashi, Nadia. That day, Sabina Yasmin, mother of little Tamanna Khatun (who was killed by the TMC goons), left her home and came down to the street, took the microphone on the Bangla Bachao Yatra, and voiced today's Bengal's call, “Her parents were supporters of the red flag, so they didn’t even spare a 10-year-old child. We don't want this Bengal. That's why we are on the road to save Bengal.”

And when the marchers of the Save Bengal Journey reached the Jyoti Basu Centre for Social Studies and Research in New Town on Wednesday afternoon, on the 19th day, this moving portrait of struggle seemed complete. Jyoti Basu, a defining leader of modern Bengal, emerged from a time of rebellion and defiance. He pioneered years of alternative governance under the Left Front regime, acting as a philosopher's stone for mass movements. In that courtyard of the Jyoti Basu Centre, in the presence of veteran communist leaders Biman Bose and Rabin Deb, the marchers took an oath to build a new Bengal by defeating the shadow war of Trinamool-BJP. That Bengal belongs to the courage of farmers emerging from bylanes, huts of bidi workers, workers standing at factory gates, a Bengal of harmony. With this came the message of alternative, not just protest.

One after another, such collages illuminated the canvas of the journey's path. That canvas is painted with fragmented struggles and pictures of crisis. Merely saying 'no' to confront a crisis is not enough. Along with the inaugural and concluding rallies, many large rallies and countless small gatherings and meetings were held along the journey. A significant number of working and common people participated in the rallies and meetings. Efforts were made to use modern technology as much as possible to make the rallies attractive. Primarily, it can be said that compared to the thought and planning, the Bangla Bachao Yatra received a much more positive response from the common people. Through this journey, issues of people's lives and livelihoods were highlighted as an alternative to the environment of hatred division and political-communal polarisation. For instance, the alternative draft proposal presented concerning water, land, forests, and livelihood in North Bengal. Now is the time to organise campaigns around it. A Migrant Labourer Assistance Centre was opened in Domkal during the journey. Such assistance centres need to be set up in other places. The centre is already focusing on collecting data on migrant labourers in the area. Preparations for movements based on the key demands we are raising for migrant labourer families have also begun. Across Bengal, the tyranny of microfinance is taking a severe shape. Effectively, women are forced to take loans. Harassment also occurs during loan recovery. Organisational preparations have begun here too to gather women and common people for resistance. A legal aid centre has been opened in Pandua for people affected by microfinance. This Bangla Bachao Yatra has called for continuously carrying on campaigns demanding the withdrawal of the Waqf Bill and saving OBC reservations. This message of alternatives speaks of raising demands and movements for the rehabilitation of people affected by river erosion in Malda-Murshidabad, including in Bhutni river bed, Manikchak. This Bangla Bachao Yatra shows the way to build locally based movements for common people's rights over land and homestead against land mafias in villages and towns, for forest rights of tribal people, and for employment and wages. Just as demands are being made for fair crop prices and government initiative to purchase all types of crops including paddy from farmers, similarly, farmers and workers have spoken about establishing industries for employment and setting up factories on the land of closed factories. The education and health sectors of the country and state are practically devastated. Over 8,500 schools are closed in Bengal. Just as there are demands against massive privatisation and corporatisation for public education, public health, and protecting government education and health infrastructure, this journey has also raised its voice against child and women trafficking. While issues of loot, corruption, hooliganism, and police activities across Bengal have certainly been raised, environmental and river pollution issues have also been added. This fight is for Bengal's secular democracy and for justice and harmony.

From Tufanganj to Kamarhati -- from the countless meetings and rallies along the 19-day journey -- the words of CPI(M) State Secretary Md Salim resonate: “People's anger is also rising against the two governments. This time, to give that anger a language, we must present an alternative narrative. One that will clarify the difference between them and the Leftists. It's not about just saying no to the two forces and stopping; we must move forward by speaking of an alternative. This is a fight. We have just begun to stir; we haven't yet broken the entrenched position of Mamata-Modi, that has to be broken.”