In West Bengal, an IPS officer, an inshallah, and the need to rise above the politics of greetings

The Suvendu Adhikari government needs to be responsible and responsive, not to social media trolls and fringe outfits, but to a more expansive and inclusive idea of “public interest”.

3 min readSep 18, 2026 06:05 AM IST First published on: Sep 18, 2026 at 06:05 AM IST

Officially, it was a “routine transfer” for “public interest”. The political context, though, tells a different story. Hours before her transfer, a group called the Hindu Legal Fund claimed it had lodged a complaint with the West Bengal Home Secretary against IPS officer Bushara Bano, until recently the Additional SP of Kharagpur. The officer’s alleged offence was the greetings she used while speaking on video about her alma mater, Aligarh Muslim University, and praising its Residential Coaching Academy for helping her clear the UPSC exams. “She began with assalamu alaikum, used Inshallah… and did not use Vande Mataram or Jai Hind. A serving officer representing the Indian state should maintain neutrality and use national expressions,” according to the Hindu Legal Fund. The government’s opacity regarding the transfer strengthens the impression that it gave in to the demand.

Nothing in the All-India Service Rules prevents an officer from using religious or cultural greetings, especially in a private capacity. The inclusive secularism envisaged in the Indian Constitution — which officials and governments are meant to uphold — allows space for religious and cultural expression. By seemingly punishing an officer for words meant for a particular context and audience, West Bengal’s BJP government is, deliberately or not, making the same mistake as its predecessors.

For the better part of five decades, state capacity in West Bengal has been eroded by a politics that saw “the party” and its affiliates — whether the CPI(M) or Trinamool Congress — all but exercise a veto over all aspects of governance. Much of the anger against the TMC government and its “syndicate” stemmed precisely from the fact that it was at once both overbearing where it did not need to be and absent where it was needed; that the law and the rules were selectively applied. The Suvendu Adhikari government, rather than focussing on correcting this lopsided deficit, seems to be deepening it. In a state that needs conversations and policies around jobs, education and industry, the focus seems to be on diet, “gerua yatras” and how a young officer says hello and goodbye. It sends a message not of “minimum government, maximum governance” but of government high-handedness. The Suvendu Adhikari government needs to be responsible and responsive, not to social media trolls and fringe outfits, but to a more expansive and inclusive idea of “public interest”.