West Bengal has finally resolved the oldest philosophical problem in politics by defining the boundary between good and bad. Plato, Aristotle and Ambedkar might have written many pages on justice, law and democracy, but the political ecosystem of Bengal has simply distilled the complexities of governance into a simple, foolproof binary of bhalo – good – and kharap, bad.This flawless sorting mechanism is perfectly illustrated by the trajectory of the humble egg, or dim, as Bengalis call it. In the glorious, yolk-splattered era of “dim-ocracy,” a clear distinction has emerged between the good eggs and the bad eggs. Bad eggs are those pesky, protein-rich items previously wasted on the mid-day meal plates of malnourished schoolchildren. Deemed too non-vegetarian, too nutritious, and far too inconvenient for spiritual reforms, they have been rightfully rationed and withdrawn from government-run schools in Kolkata. Good eggs, by contrast, are the premium, overpriced, preferably rotten ones purchased in bulk by enthusiastic mobs to be hurled at opposition politicians. They are democratic, spontaneous, fragrant, and camera-friendly. Why nourish the future when one can so efficiently humiliate the past?This good-bad sorting matrix applies with equal precision to the political class. Trinamool Congress (TMC) leaders who remain with Mamata Banerjee are bad, serving as human magnets for the good eggs. Then, of course, there are those good TMC leaders, who have achieved total purification by taking a well-timed spin through the state’s miraculous political washing machine.Allegations of corruption, extortion, syndicate raj or political excess may remain exactly where they were, but the moral detergent of defection cleanses all stains. Heavyweights like Javed Khan, Arup Biswas, Bobby Hakim, Ritabrata Banerjee, Saayoni Ghosh, despite allegations of corruption and administrative excesses, have achieved this instant political nirvana. An invisible anti-egg forcefield descended upon them the moment they donned the new ruling colours.TMC leader Soumitra Banerjee reacts after being pelted with eggs while being escorted to a court by police, in Raniganj, Tuesday, June 16, 2026. Photo: PTI.Even the ruling establishment boasts a fascinating internal spectrum of goodness. On one end stands the soft-spoken wing of the ruling party, represented by state president Samik Bhattacharya, who recites Tagore poetry and publicly disapproves of poultry-based projectile warfare, warning that it damages the party’s national image. The Calcutta high court, displaying an old-fashioned constitutional stubbornness, has aligned with this cautious view by directing that First Information Reports (FIRs) be registered in all egg-pelting cases. Yet, formal judicial bodies fail to comprehend the emotional chemistry of this sonar Bangla – golden era of Bengal.The field-tested, action-oriented wing of the party, championed by cabinet minister Dilip Ghosh, understands this chemistry completely. When opposition figures like Mamata Banerjee, Mahua Moitra, and Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya raised constitutional objections regarding the police encounter killing in Baruipur, Ghosh branded those critics “anti-socials who coddle criminals for personal branding”, and publicly encouraged supporters to hurl eggs directly at their heads.This brings governance to its ultimate retributive triumph through Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari’s heavily popularised “joma-khoroch (deposit and spend)” model. Voiced during the election campaign, this model promised that rapists would bypass courtrooms entirely. Adhikari used the ‘deposit and spend’ slogan to say that he will be picking rapists up in the morning, depositing them at the police stations, and finishing them by evening. He seems committed to keeping his promise of embracing the lethal ‘efficiency’ of Adityanath’s Uttar Pradesh or Himanta Biswa Sarma’s Assam.Also read: As Key Accused in Bengal Minor’s Rape and Murder Is Killed in Encounter, Police Can’t Escape ScrutinyIn Baruipur, this was at full display. Following the horrific rape and murder of a child, a bloodthirsty mob took the law into its own hands and beat a man to death. The Chief Minister utilised his executive clairvoyance to declare the victim innocent long before investigators even filed a charge sheet. A day after, the prime suspect was taken for a midnight crime scene reconstruction in the dark rain, where he allegedly snatched a service weapon from a massive police escort, opened fire, and was promptly shot dead.State leaders and friendly media outlets hailed the bullets as divine justice. Adhikari’s campaign rhetoric of compressed, morning-to-evening punishment is now being treated not as dangerous contempt for due process, but as efficient governance. There is no need to waste court time or bother with evidence, cross-examination, chargesheets, appeals, forensic contradictions. The public is angry, the television studio is ready, and the state has a gun.Democracy is supposed to mean rule by law, through institutions, with equal standards for friend and enemy. Democracy is dead. Long live the golden age of dim-ocracy, where justice is always served sunny-side up.