Tagore's Ancestral House vandalised in Bangladesh: Despicable, says India; Mamata asks PM to ‘build global pressure on Dhaka' to act
India on Thursday condemned the ransacking of the ancestral home of Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore in Bangladesh by a mob, terming the violent attack a 'disgrace' to the memory and inclusive philosophy espoused by the poet.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, in a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, sought his intervention for 'a strong international protest', which she said, 'would at least deter in future any attack on monuments of cultural legacies'.
On Tuesday, a mob vandalised the ancestral home of Tagore at Kachharibari in Sirajganj district of Bangladesh.
Rabindra Kachharibari, also known as the Rabindra Memorial Museum, was the revenue office of the Tagore family where he wrote several literary works. Tagore's grandfather, Dwarkanath Tagore, had built the two-storey mansion in 1840.
In Delhi, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal urged the interim government in Bangladesh to rein in these elements and take 'strict action' against the perpetrators to prevent recurrence of such incidents. 'We strongly condemn the despicable act, attack and vandalisation of the ancestral home of Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore by a mob,' the MEA spokesperson said, adding the attack falls in the 'broad pattern of systematic attempts by extremists to erase the symbols of tolerance and eviscerate the syncretic cultural legacy of Bangladesh'.
The Bangladesh authorities have constituted a three-member committee to investigate the incident, according to media reports in Bangladesh.
In the letter to the Prime Minister, Banerjee urged him to 'take up the matter very strongly' with the Bangladesh government. 'Although untold damage has already been done, a strong international protest would at least deter any attack on monuments of cultural legacies in the future… What has been vandalised is not a mere house, but a towering fountain of creativity in our subcontinent,' she wrote.
'The incident of vandalism is not only shocking, but also unfortunate for our national pride and cultural legacy. It is a vile attack on our sensibilities, our cherished treasures, and our common nostalgia for a past when Tagore could transcend all thresholds in pursuit of his immortal creations,' she wrote.
CPI(M) general secretary MA Baby called the ransacking of Tagore's ancestral home 'highly deplorable'. 'Great cultural icons shouldn't be targeted for petty interests. Tagore wrote the national anthems for both India and Bangladesh. The Bangladesh govt should act against the vandals,' Baby said.
The BJP also condemned the attack, calling it 'an assault on the very soul of India's rich cultural and civilizational heritage'.
BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra called for global denunciation of the incident targeting the legacy of the iconic Indian personality, as he described it as a 'preplanned' attack orchestrated by Islamic groups.
He also targeted the West Bengal chief minister, accusing her of 'not raising the issue'. She sees infiltrators from neighbouring Bangladesh as a vote bank and has opted to keep quiet for political reasons,' he alleged.
BJP leaders in poll-bound West Bengal called it 'a wake-up call for the Hindus' in the state.
Leader of Opposition and BJP MLA Suvendu Adhikari, who posted a purported video of the attack, said: 'When extremist forces gain ground, they spare no one; not even a figure revered worldwide like Tagore…. This serves as a reminder of the need for vigilance in protecting our cultural heritage, especially in demographically volatile regions. When the demography changes, and a number of such elements increase, they will not hesitate to target our temples, our culture, and our way of life, as it can already be witnessed in Malda, Murshidabad, and Maheshtala.'
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