Absence of Tagore's name from Santiniketan UNESCO site plaque stirs row, Mamata gives ultimatum
Oct 28, 2023
Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], October 28 : West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday gave a 24-hour deadline to the authorities of Visva Bharati university in Santiniketan for not inscribing the name of Rabindranath Tagore in the plaque commemorating the award of 'World Heritage Site' by UNESCO.
"It is only for Tagore that Santiniketan got the UNESCO tag and you have removed his name from the plaques. We were silent because of Durga Puja celebrations. If you do not remove the plaques and put-up new ones with the Nobel Laureate's name by 10 am tomorrow, our people will launch a demonstration holding Kobiguru's photos to their chests," Banerjee told reporters at a press conference on Thursday.
Mamata Banerjee said that the absence of Rabindranath Tagore's name from the plaque insults Tagore and belittles the anti-colonial heritage-creating efforts of our Nation's founding fathers.
"Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore created a world heritage site (now recognized by UNESCO) at Santiniketan - Visva Bharati, but the current institutional authorities there have arranged site memorial plaques on this occasion which display even the Vice Chancellor's name but not the name of Gurudev!!
This insults Tagore and belittles the anti-colonial heritage-creating efforts of our Nation's founding fathers.
The central government will be well advised to remove this narcissistic display of arrogant self-exhibitionism forthwith and to give Gurudev the tribute that the country owes to him", she said in a post on X.
West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose also criticized the absence of Tagore's name from the plaque.
"Visva-Bharti without Rabindranath Tagore is like Hamlet without the Prince of Denmark..." Bose, who is also the rector of the university told the reporters.
A huge controversy was triggered after the university authorities put up marble plaques bearing the names of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is also the chancellor of the varsity, and vice-chancellor Bidyut Chakrabarty, but did not have any mention of Tagore.
