New Delhi, India - When the 1 lakh-plus followers of the Santan Dal converged at the Sahid Minar ground yesterday, after having held the city to ransom for hours, the chief organiser emerged to the fore in a unique style. The disciples made way. The barricade of people gave room so that he could ''breathe freely'', a devotee fanned him to make him comfortable. But the ''Dada'' was unmoved.
After all, Chitta Sikdar - hailed as the ''secretary'' nominated by the ''Thakur'', the spiritual head of the sect - was here on a mission. A duty to herald the arrival of ''Balak Brahmachari'', the cult guru of Santan Dal who died in 1993 but whose body was kept for over 70 days in the belief that he would come alive again.
The government then had to intervene forcefully to take custody of the rotting body in the sect's spiritual headquarters at Sukchar in Sodepur, about 20 km from Kolkata. The body of the ''Thakur'' was finally cremated with police help.
The organisation's emergence after 13 years on such a massive scale is not only shrouded in mystery but is a pointer to the fact that it was working hard, though silently, to consolidate its support base all over West Bengal and in neighbouring states.
While its membership strength has evidently swelled, its leaders seem to be still drawing their strength from the ''supernatural''. What evidently held sway over its million disciples is the hope of reincarnation of the sect's ''Thakur'', Balak Brahmachari. Only this time, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose's name was added to the list. The Dal has set a deadline of 2007 by which Netaji should ''re-surface'' to rid the country of its ills.
Talking to Newsline, Sikdar, a retired head clerk of the State Forest Department, says he is opposed to the ''secretary'' tag. ''Ours is an organisation without a hierarchy,'' he adds.
The organisation has seen a long-drawn conflict, and ultimately the parting of ways, between two conflicting groups. The Chitta Sikdar-led faction cut all links with the dham and shifted base. The dham is at present run by a trustee board comprising members of the rival faction.
Meanwhile, Sikdar says though the dham's doors have been closed to them, the movement will spill out to the grassroots. ''It does not matter that we do not have a fixed base to operate from. There is a spiritual power which has made this rally a success,'' he says.
Re-opened in 2003, the Sukchar Dham is headed by Sudhir Ranjan Dutta, a senior caretaker. At present, the dham wears a deserted look with only five staff to maintain the palatial structure. ''With 32 rooms and only five of us, it becomes difficult to maintain the place,'' says Radhanath, a staff.