A discussion on Deep Halder’s book Blood Island: An Oral History of the Marichjhapi Massacre.
The book is a revealing account of the large scale, yet sparsely recorded, mass massacre of the Hindu refugees, mostly belonging to the lower caste, settled in Marichjhapi — an island in the Sundarbans in West Bengal, under the aegis of the erstwhile Left Front government in 1979.
Deep Halder has been a journalist for the past 17 years. He writes on issues of development at the intersection of religion, caste and politics. Currently, he is the executive editor at the India Today Group Digital.
Anamitra Anurag Danda, Senior Visiting Fellow, ORF Kolkata
Anirban Ganguly, Director, Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee Research Foundation, New Delhi
Nilanjan Ghosh, Director, Observer Research Foundation, Kolkata
Shantanu Guha Ray, journalist
2:00 – 2:30 p.m. | Registration
2:30 – 2:35 p.m. | Opening remarks by Chair | Nilanjan Ghosh
2:35 – 2:50 p.m. | Introduction of the book | Deep Halder
2:50 – 3:05 p.m. | Discussion | Anirban Ganguly
3:05 – 3:20 p.m. | Discussion | Anamitra Anurag Danda
3:20 – 3:35 p.m. | Discussion | Shantanu Guha Ray
3:35 – 4:25 p.m. | Q & A | Closing remarks by Chair
4:25 – 4:45 p.m. | Group photo & tea
