The Congress party has accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of orchestrating the removal of Rabindranath Tagore’s name from newly installed plaques at West Bengal’s Visva-Bharati University. They argue that after the attempt to diminish Jawahar Lal Nehru’s legacy, PM Modi is now attempting to erase the memory of the late poet. These plaques prominently display PM Modi’s name as ‘Acharya’ but conspicuously omit Tagore, the university’s founder.
In response to this controversy, the Congress party labeled PM Modi as the “principal propagator of fear, hatred, and division” and insinuated that he may be suffering from delusions.
Jairam Ramesh expressed, “Erasure of Nehru wasn’t enough. Now, erasure of Rabindranath Tagore also begins.”
Pawan Khera humorously suggested that the Prime Minister should consider renaming “narcissism as modicissism.”
KC Venugopal delivered a cutting remark, referencing Tagore’s famous words, “Freedom from fear is the freedom I claim for you, my Motherland.” He pointed out that the chief peddler of fear and division had now bestowed upon himself the title of “Acharya” in Shantiniketan, excluding Tagore entirely. He remarked that delusion knows no bounds.
In the midst of this controversy, officials have assured that the contentious plaques will soon be replaced.
Visva-Bharati University, located in Shantiniketan town in Bengal’s Birbhum district, recently gained UNESCO world heritage status. The university had initially installed three plaques bearing the names of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the vice-chancellor Bidyut Chakrabarty. These plaques were considered temporary and will be replaced with new ones bearing inscriptions provided by the Archaeological Survey of India and UNESCO by the end of October.
Supriyo Thakur, the great-grandson of Rabindranath Tagore, expressed his disappointment, claiming that authorities were attempting to erase Tagore’s name from the university’s heritage.
