Visva-Bharati Plaques Omit Tagore's Name, Stir Controversy

Two marble plaques with the names of Visva-Bharati Vice-Chancellor Bidyut Chakrabarty and Chancellor Narendra Modi referencing Unesco's World Heritage Site designation for Santiniketan have been installed. However, there is a point of contention since Rabindranath Tagore is not included on the tablets.

The Birbhum district's Santiniketan was added to Unesco's World Heritage List on September 17.

According to the Unesco website, "Santiniketan was a residential school and center for art based on ancient Indian traditions and on a vision of the unity of humanity transcending religious and cultural boundaries. It was established in rural West Bengal in 1901 by the renowned poet and philosopher, Rabindranath Tagore."

The Visva-Bharati University was founded in Santiniketan by the Nobel winner in 1921.

Authorities in Visva-Bharati recently erected at least two concrete plaques to mark Unesco's accolade – one at Rabindra Bhavana, the complex that includes five of Tagore's dwellings and a museum, and the other in front of Upasana Griha, the glass prayer hall. The two plaques have the inscription "UNESCO INSCRIBED WORLD HERITAGE SITE" and list Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the chancellor of Visva-Bharati and Vice-chancellor Bidyut Chakrabarty.

Jawhar Sircar Sircar, a former Union culture secretary and member of the Trinamul Rajya Sabha who was actively involved in the application process to Unesco for a cultural site designation for Santiniketan, said that Visva-Bharati was not entitled to the accolade since it was exclusively for Tagore.

During my time serving as cultural secretary, I traveled to between 40 and 50 Unesco World Heritage Sites worldwide. There is no such instance of what Visva-Bharati performed at those places. Santiniketan, not Visva-Bharati, was listed by Unesco as a historic site supported by Rabindranath Tagore's philosophy. It's really a case of tastelessness and low class, Sircar told The Telegraph.

He said that similar places had plaques in front of them, but these included information about the location, its history, and the rationale for the recognition. He went on, "Mayors or ministers" were not named on the plaques.

According to Sircar, the plaques were put in place by the Visva-Bharati authorities out of a sense of political appropriation.

"UNESCO explicitly said that by designating Santiniketan as a World Heritage Site, they are paying tribute to Rabindranath Tagore and his exceptional legacy. A conceited VC and his supervisor seem to believe that Unesco is paying them tribute! Written on his X handle was Sircar.

According to varsity sources, Chakrabarty gave the order to have the plaques installed.

According to a university insider, the VC's action was only a ruse to appease Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP in order to get a one-year extension once his term expires on November 8.

At least a dozen letters imploring the authorities in Delhi to refrain from extending Chakrabarty's term were submitted.

In a recent ruling pertaining to the expulsion of a Visva-Bharati physics professor from the esteemed CERN project, Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay of the Calcutta High Court said that the VC need to be eliminated.

"The VC put these ill-advised plaques in an attempt to curry favor with Delhi's BJP leaders in order to get an extension. A university administrator said that he purposefully included the prime minister in the dispute with the objective of gaining personal advantage.

Such plaques, according to an Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) official, ought to have been installed in accordance with the rules, as the cultural ministry's approval was required before any obstacle could be placed in front of a monument.

The issue is not that any official or landlord may haphazardly erect anything in front of a monument that has been designated as a Unesco World Heritage Site. We need to verify whether the items were positioned correctly," an ASI representative said on the condition of anonymity.

According to Santiniketan locals, Tagore opposed personal campaigns of this kind, which is why the bard's bust and monument are absent from the campus.

The plaques made it obvious that the VC put them there to get recognition for himself and his supervisor in Delhi. This is not in keeping with Santiniketan culture. The administration's omission of Rabindranath Tagore's name is regrettable, as noted by Santiniketan resident Sudripta Tagore, a member of the Tagore family.

Catching on to the problem, opposition parties said that Modi was attempting to usurp Tagore's name from the saffron environment.

"The removal of Nehru was insufficient. On his X social media account, Congress communications leader Jayram Ramesh said, "Now, erasure of Rabindranath Tagore also begins."

Not even BJP leaders find the plaques to be acceptable.

"To find out whether the VC had permission before using the name Narendra Modiji, I shall write to the Prime Minister's Office. BJP national secretary Anupam Hazra stated, "If permission was not obtained, I would write to our Prime Minister and ask for his assistance.

Officials from Visva-Bharati, however, asserted that the plaques were just temporary and that ASI and Unesco-provided ones will take their place.

"The purpose of these temporary plaques is to just mark the place. Plaques that the ASI will provide us will take their place. Additionally, Unesco will send a plaque for exhibition, according to Visva-Bharati's acting public relations officer Mahua Banerjee.

A senior varsity official, however, disagreed with the varsity's assertion and questioned the installation of temporary plaques on a concrete basis.

"We believe the government has come to the realization that its actions were incorrect. According to a varsity administrator, "they are now attempting to undo the damage by claiming that the plaques were temporary."

But Banerjee said, "I don't see why they were constructed of concrete. I believe new plaques will take their place.