For decades, the Marxists and Trinamool Congress have been following a policy of appeasement towards minorities in Bengal and the Hindus have been watching helplessly. But a new wind has started to blow in Bengal. There have been spontaneous processions of Hindus, mostly women, in several cities of Bengal on the occasion of Ramnavami and Hanuman Jayanti. Hindu outfits in West Bengal have been alleging that the chief minister Mamata Banerjee has been showing undue favour towards minorities, and Hindus were not being allowed to take out processions during their festivals. They point out that while Muslims were allowed to show weapons during Muharram processions, Hindus were denied permission to even bring out peaceful processions. But now, Hindus in Bengal have started asserting. In several Ramnavami processions, weapons were publicly displayed. The lathicharge by Bengal police on processionists in Birbhum on Tuesday, during Hanuman Jayanti, provoked a small-time BJP youth leader in Aligarh to declare a Rs 11 lakh reward on Mamata’s head. After a huge outcry in Parliament and outside, he had to retract his statement and apologize. The remark was atrocious, but the fact remains that for the first time in West Bengal, Hindus have started to come out on the streets to express their strong resentment towards appeasement policies.