Row erupts in Bengal over vandalism at Tagore’s ancestral house in Bangladesh
The Hindu
Political row erupts in West Bengal over vandalism at Rabindranath Tagore's ancestral house in Bangladesh, sparking international outrage.
A political row has erupted in West Bengal over the reported vandalism at an ancestral house of Rabindranath Tagore located in Sirajganj, Bangladesh, with both the ruling Trinamool Congress and the Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) raising the matter publicly.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on June 12 wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging him to “take up the matter very strongly with the neighbouring country’s government, so that no stone is left unturned to swiftly bring to justice the perpetrators of this heinous and mindless act”.
Observing that Rabindranath Tagore is renowned not only in West Bengal but across the globe, Ms. Banerjee wrote that what was damaged was not merely a building but a “towering fountain of creativity” in the subcontinent.
“Although untold damage has already been done, a strong international protest would at least deter in future any attack on monuments of cultural legacies that have withstood steadfastly all tests of time,” the Trinamool Congress chairperson stated.
The Chief Minister’s letter came a day after the Leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, raised the issue during an address at a religious event in Kolkata.
“The attack on Kachari Bari is not just an assault on a building; it’s an attack on our shared heritage, our identity, and our values. For Hindus in West Bengal, this serves as a reminder of the need for vigilance in protecting our cultural heritage, especially in demographically volatile regions,” Mr. Adhikari said.
Sharing video footage of the vandalism, the BJP leader used the incident to appeal for “unity of Hindus” in West Bengal and reiterated that the “vandalism serves as a reminder of the need for vigilance in protecting our cultural heritage, especially in demographically volatile regions”.
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