Sheikh Shahjahan | A tale of another Sheikh Shahjahan: In season of polarisation, medical student busts myth of community tarnishing telegraphindia.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from telegraphindia.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
In her 60s, speaking in a polished, aristocratic accent, she recalls with pleasure her decades of being a teacher. Then she frowns. “I was shocked to see recent comments made by some of my former students on social media. Did I raise a bunch of bigots or is it just these past few years or past few months?”
A Muslim woman born to privilege in Calcutta, she is unapologetic about wanting to be “surrounded by lovely things, little comforts and people of taste”. But she confesses she could not escape the hate narrative before and during the Bengal polls.
“Before this, one took some things for granted. But now, one can’t. For example, my nephew, who’s 19, wasn’t bothered about news or news channels before, but he was very troubled by how the Tablighi Jamaat was shown on TV last year at the start of the pandemic. He said that for the first time he felt different from his non-Muslim friends. I feel angry when Mamata Banerjee is dubbed Mumtaz Begum. Why are you insulting t