Thousands of schoolchildren poured their grief and anger onto paper on Sunday, seeking justice for Tamanna Khatun, the schoolgirl killed in a bomb attack in Molandi village of of Plassey in Nadia on June 23, the day results of the Kaliganj bypoll were announced.
On the eve of what would have been her 10th birthday, their drawings became silent screams against impunity. Organised under the title Esho Tamannar Jonyo Aanki” (Come, Let’s Draw For Tamanna), the statewide initiative by various frontal organisations of the CPM transformed protest into art against the police that failed to arrest all those responsible.
The vibrant protest at the same time comes as a prelude to Tamanna’s birthday as a “Protest with a Paintbrush.” In every sketch, every color, and every trembling line drawn by a child's hand - there was one message, loud and clear: justice for Tamanna cannot wait.
More than a month has passed since the horrific bomb attack on the Class IV student in Molandi village of Plassey in Nadia, yet the police have failed to arrest all the 24 accused named in the FIR.
According to sources, only 10 have been put behind bars.
Tamanna was known for her love of drawing and planting trees. With no formal training, she used to bring her world to life with crayons and colour pencils.
“Tamanna had a passion for drawing,” said her mother Sabina.
“If she were alive, she would have turned 10 on Monday. Just a day before her birthday, children across Bengal drew in her memory, symbolically demanding justice. Her birthday will be marked in Plassey with a sit-and-draw event she would have loved. I will offer paayesh to her friends and plant trees in her name," the bereaved mother said.
On Sunday, the tribute began at 10am from the courtyard of Tamanna’s home, just a few feet from where she collapsed after being struck by a crude bomb allegedly hurled by a Trinamool activist on June 23 as a part of the party's so-called victory procession which reportedly targeted the homes of CPM sympathisers in Molandi village with explosives.
Her mother Sabina laid a mat on the ground, where children expressed their pain in color, as leaders of the DYFI and the CPM stood by them. Among those present were DYFI state secretary Dhrubajyoti Saha, state president Ayanangshu Sarkar, and CPM’s Nadia district secretariat member Debasish Acharya, who has been leading the grassroots campaign for justice.
The emotional weight of the day resonated across children’s artwork, many of which carried the message “Justice for Tamanna” in bleeding red.
Some depicted her smiling, others showed explosions and grief. A few children even raised broader questions of safety — Are we safe?
"More than a month has passed since my daughter was killed by Trinamool goons,” said Sabina. “But justice still seems far away. More than half of the accused named in my FIR are absconding. Police are not only slow in arresting them, they're also harassing those who stood by us and demanded justice for my daughter," Sabina said.
DYFI’s Dhrubajyoti Saha said: “Monday, July 28, is Tamanna’s birthday. To mark the day, we launched a state-wide sit-and-draw program today in collaboration with SFI, AIDWA, ABPT, and others”. “Goons of the ruling party have taken one Tamanna away. But today, thousands of Tamannas picked up their paintbrushes to protest the police’s failure to arrest all the accused, recover the arms and find the hidden stockpile of bombs."
"Less than half of the accused have been arrested. The rest are absconding, their aides are intimidating eyewitnesses. Justice for Tamanna feels like a distant dream," Archarya alleged.
On Monday, her birthday will be observed with another sit-and-draw and a tree plantation drive in Plassey.
The protest wasn't confined to Plassey anymore. In Calcutta’s Sahebbagan area of Kasba, around 70 students participated in a local sit-and-draw. DYFI sources said the initiative took place at nearly 600 locations across the state.
