Kolkata witnessed a massive rally organized by Bangla Pokkho in protest against the alleged harassment, detention, and confinement of Bengalis in detention camps in several BJP-ruled Indian states for speaking in Bengali and being branded as “Bangladeshi.” The rally, held on the occasion of Rakhi Purnima, began at College Street and concluded at the foot of the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose statue in Shyambazar. The organization accused state administrations of systematically targeting Bengali migrant workers, while jobs in Bengal’s industrial and urban areas are largely occupied by outsiders. Echoing Rabindranath Tagore’s 1905 Rakhi Bandhan unity movement against the Partition of Bengal, leaders called for united resistance. Bangla Pokkho’s General Secretary, Garga Chatterjee, alleged that the “Hindi imperialist, anti-Bengali BJP” seeks to strip Bengalis of their language, culture, and citizenship, but vowed that the movement would not allow it.