Not only Bengalis, every citizen has the right to go anywhere in India: Amartya Sen

Wading into the political slugfest over the alleged harassment of Bengali migrant workers in other parts of the country, noted economist Amartya Sen said every citizen of India has the freedom to go wherever they want, and any effort to curb that must be objected to. Speaking to reporters at his ancestral home in Santiniketan, Sen said it doesn't matter whether a person is a Bengali, Punjabi or a Marwari, the freedom to go wherever he wants and speak whichever language he wants is his constitutional right. "An Indian citizen has the right of movement in the entire country. There is no mention of territorial rights anywhere in our Constitution," he said. "Every citizen of India has the right to be happy. We have to respect everyone...," he said on Thursday, responding to a question from reporters on the issue that has rocked the state.

Sen said if Bengalis are being tortured and neglected, it must be objected to. "It is not a question of Bengal alone, but the whole country," he added. "The language that was integrated with 'Charyapad' (Bangla), its value must be acknowledged. Various poems have been written in that language. The messages of Rabindranath Tagore and Kazi Nazrul Islam have been laid out very clearly in their works. These values must be acknowledged," he said. The TMC has been raising its voice over the last one month, alleging that Bengali-speaking people, especially poor Muslim migrant workers, are being harassed in BJP-ruled states and being branded illegal Bangladeshi immigrants.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has led a mega rally in Kolkata over the issue last month, and also started 'Bhasa Andolan', sharpening her attack on the BJP. The BJP, on the other hand, has dismissed the allegations, claiming that the TMC did not think about the welfare of migrant workers over the last 14 years, and was now raising the issue with an eye on next year's assembly elections in the state.