A recent public dispute has brought the far-left All India Students' Association (AISA) into the spotlight. AISA National President Neha Bora sparked widespread outrage following comments she made about Hindu religious customs, Brahmins, and the sanctity of temple institutions. During an interview, Bora criticized traditional practices and selectively cited historical texts to support her claims. At the center of her argument was her interpretation of the phrase, "Gareeb, shoodra, pashu, nari taadna ke adhikari hai".

In her translation, Bora emphasized the word "taadan," asserting: "The poor, Shudras, animals, and women are deserving of chastisement". Critics, however, were quick to point out that her interpretation fundamentally altered the text's traditional meaning. Linguistic scholars argue that in this specific Hindi context, "taadan" means "to look after" or "to care for". According to this widely accepted interpretation, the correct translation states that the poor, the Shudras, animals, and women are, in fact, entitled to care.

The controversy escalated when Bora leveled severe accusations against Hindu religious figures, stating: "Mandiro main pujaari rape karte hai" (Priests commit rapes inside temples). She expanded on this by claiming that women, particularly Brahmin women, face systemic danger under the "Brahmanical system". Critics view this as a deliberate attempt to frame all Hindu religious functionaries as abusers, arguing it uses the language of women's safety as a facade for ideological hostility toward the temple as an institution.

Legal Repercussions and the Push for Accountability

The fallout from Bora’s statements has swiftly moved into the legal arena. On Tuesday, November 3rd, Supreme Court Advocate Amita Sachdeva filed formal complaints with the Delhi Police, seeking a First Information Report (FIR) against Bora. According to reports, the complaints were lodged at both the Parliament Street Police Station and the Cyber Police Station.

Sachdeva has requested that authorities take action under Section 196 of the newly implemented Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) of 2023. This section deals with offenses that promote hostility between different social groups and disrupt public peace. In a statement addressing her legal strategy, Advocate Sachdeva explained, "Such statements have the potential to create disharmony, hostility and enmity between communities. These individuals seem to believe that no action will be taken against them. However, the law provides remedies to address such statements, and we are fully entitled to pursue appropriate legal action. We will take this matter to its logical conclusion before the Court, just as we have done in the matters involving Rana Ayyub, Dhruv Rathee, Karishma Aziz and several others".

Examining the Ideological Divide

Neha Bora leads AISA, an organization intrinsically linked to the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation, which draws its roots from the Naxalbari movement and traditional Marxist-Leninist doctrines. While Bora's political rhetoric frequently centers on dismantling traditional hierarchies in the name of women's safety and progressive rights, historians and critics point out a stark contradiction.

A closer look at the historical trajectory of far-left and communist movements—both domestically and globally—reveals a troubling, extensively documented pattern of severe human rights violations and systemic abuse directed specifically at women.

The Bantala Tragedy: A Dark Chapter in West Bengal

The history of communist-associated violence against women in India includes deeply disturbing chapters, perhaps most notably the Bantala case of May 1990. During the era of the CPI(M)-led government in West Bengal, a horrifying incident occurred on May 30th. Three female health officials—Anita Dewan, a Deputy District Extension Media Officer; Uma Ghosh, a senior health department official; and Renu Ghosh, an official working with UNICEF and WHO programs—were returning to Kolkata. They had just completed a vital child vaccination drive in Gosaba.

As they drove through Bantala, a known stronghold for the CPI(M), a local political mob intercepted their vehicle near a party office. The driver, Avni Naiya, attempted to escape the ambush, but the car tragically overturned. The mob surrounded the vehicle, dragged the women out, and set the car on fire. When Naiya bravely tried to defend his passengers, he was beaten mercilessly, suffering 43 injuries and crushed genitals. He succumbed to his wounds on June 4, 1990, at SSKM Hospital.

The three women were dragged into nearby fields and subjected to a brutal gang rape. Tragically, Anita Dewan was murdered during the assault; post-mortem reports detailed unimaginable torture, including the insertion of a metallic torch into her body. Uma and Renu Ghosh survived but sustained critical injuries.

Police response was delayed by nearly five hours. The subsequent political reaction shocked the nation. The state's Health Minister at the time, Prasanta Sur, suggested the villagers had merely mistaken the health workers for child kidnappers. Even more stunning was the public dismissal by then-Chief Minister Jyoti Basu, who notoriously remarked, "Such things keep happening!" Later investigations, led by figures like former Asian Development Bank Director D. Bandopadhyay, suggested a sinister motive: Dewan was targeted because she had uncovered massive financial corruption and the theft of UNICEF funds by local CPI(M)-led panchayats.

The Reign of Terror in Sutia Village

The early 2000s saw another grim reality unfold under the Left Front government led by Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee. In Sutia village, located in the North 24 Parganas district, a criminal syndicate led by Sushanta Chowdhury established a regime of absolute terror. This gang, allegedly operating with the protection and patronage of local CPI(M) enforcers, weaponized sexual violence against the community.

Official records cite 33 rapes and 12 murders, though locals and activists have long maintained the actual numbers were significantly higher. Families who attempted to resist or report the crimes faced retaliatory gang rapes. It wasn't until 2002 that a brave schoolteacher named Barun Biswas organized the "Sutia Pratibad Mancha". Through incredible personal courage and mass mobilization, Biswas empowered the villagers to stand up to their tormentors, eventually forcing the criminals to face justice.

The Hidden Exploitation Inside Underground Networks

The systemic abuse of women within far-left movements extends deep into underground Maoist networks. Former Jhargram area commander Shobha Mandi exposed this reality in her memoir, Ek Maowadi Ki Dairy. Mandi detailed a harrowing culture of enforced wife-swapping, widespread sexual exploitation, and constant abuse at the hands of senior leadership.

She recounted enduring seven years of continuous sexual assault by high-ranking commanders. When she reported these crimes to top leaders, including the prominent guerrilla leader Kishanji, her pleas were ignored. Furthermore, Mandi revealed a horrific policy regarding pregnancy: female fighters who became pregnant were routinely subjected to forced abortions. The leadership viewed motherhood and family ties as unacceptable threats to operational mobility and combat readiness.

A Widespread Pattern Across the Nation

Mandi’s experiences were not isolated. Disclosures from surrendered female cadres across several states—including Bihar, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, and Odisha—have repeatedly highlighted a culture of forced marriages, molestation, and rape by senior male commanders.

A stark piece of physical evidence emerged in January 2012 during an operation by the Border Security Force (BSF). While raiding a Maoist hideout in the Niliguda forest in Odisha's Malkangiri district, security forces recovered significant quantities of contraceptive pills, condoms, and pregnancy test kits. Official government reports corroborated these findings, reiterating that even married female combatants were forbidden from having children, as the Maoist ideology deemed motherhood incompatible with their revolutionary duties.

The Global History of Leftist Extremism and Abuse

This contradiction between the stated goals of communist movements and their actual treatment of women is not solely an Indian phenomenon.

During the decade-long civil war in Nepal, which claimed over 13,000 lives, human rights organizations documented extensive sexual violence. The Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) routinely subjected rural women and female cadres to rape and physical abuse, often as retaliation against communities that refused to provide shelter or supplies.

Similarly, the history of the Soviet Union exposes horrific realities. The Gulag labor camp system was notorious for its routine sexual violence against female political prisoners. Criminal syndicates, operating under the eyes of state guards, frequently stripped, assaulted, and gang-raped women during transport and within the barracks.

This pattern stretches across the globe:

• The Red Army (1944–1945): In the final days of World War II, advancing Soviet troops committed mass sexual violence. Historians estimate over two million German women and girls were raped, alongside tens of thousands in Hungary, Poland, and Manchuria.
• Cambodia under the Khmer Rouge: Following their 1975 takeover, the party mandated mass marriages. Women who resisted were subjected to gang rape or execution by party cadres.
• China’s Land Reforms: During early communist land reform initiatives, local cadres frequently sexually assaulted women belonging to the targeted landlord classes.
• Modern Insurgencies: Armed left-wing groups, such as FARC in Colombia, the Shining Path in Peru, and the New People’s Army in the Philippines, have faced continual international condemnation for systematic sexual coercion and abuse within their ranks.

A Stark Contradiction

When analyzing Neha Bora's rhetoric against the backdrop of historical facts, a stark contradiction emerges. While figures associated with far-left ideologies utilize the language of modern feminism to critique traditional Hindu institutions and priests, the political tradition they champion holds a dark, global legacy of systemic violence against women.

From the horrific crimes in Bantala and Sutia to the hidden abuses within Maoist camps and the historical atrocities of the Soviet Red Army, the ideological lineage of these movements is marred by profound exploitation. The weaponization of progressive terminology to attack traditional institutions stands in glaring contrast to the extensively documented history of brutality perpetrated by far-left and anarchist movements against the very women they claim to defend.