How Trinamool, BJP vied for Rabindranath Tagore’s legacy on his birth anniversary

For West Bengal’s two main political rivals, Rabindranath Tagore’s birth anniversary celebration was a big event this year. The ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the Opposition BJP were locked all day (May 9) in a game of one-upmanship over observing Rabindra Jayanti—a key event in Bengal’s literary and cultural calendar.

The state BJP celebrated Rabindra Jayanti in the presence of party heavyweight Amit Shah. In the past, the party has paid tributes to nationalist litterateur Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, the writer of Vande Mataram, with leaders like Shah and BJP national president J.P. Nadda delivering a lecture and visiting Chatterjee’s ancestral home in Naihati in North 24 Parganas. In 2021, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had tweeted on Bankim Chatterjee’s birthday (June 26)—the year the BJP failed to wrest power from the TMC despite a high-pitched assembly election campaign.

Tagore’s birthplace at Jorasanko in north Kolkata and Visva Bharati, the university founded by him, have seen footfalls by BJP national leaders many times when they came visiting Bengal, but their participation in cultural programmes on Rabindra Jayanti happened for the first time.

Political observers see this urgency on the part of the BJP to dive deep into Bengali culture in the context of the general elections in 2024 and Bengal, Bihar and Odisha being crucial for the party to increase its tally in the next Lok Sabha. And what better way to strike a chord with Bengali hearts than eulogise the state’s icons?

Tagore, for Bengalis, is more than an icon. He finds place in probably every Bengali home in some way or the other—be it a picture or a calendar on the wall or a sculpted bust or small statue. Paying homage to Tagore will be easily relatable because there’s arguably not a single Bengali home where Rabindra Sangeet has not been crooned or children have not learnt his poems and songs or the dance form that goes with it.

The West Bengal government has always celebrated Rabindra Jayanti even though the scale has differed from year to year and party to party. Under TMC rule, sometimes the flex hoardings for the occasion would have chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s picture towering over Tagore’s, and sometimes Tagore would even be missing from it altogether. But Mamata always ensured that Rabindra Jayanti programmes had the presence of the who’s who of the cultural and intellectual fraternity.

On Tagore’s 162 birth anniversary this year, she organised the main programme at the new, state-of-art and 2,000-seating capacity Dhana Dhanye Stadium in Kolkata’s Alipore. In competition from the start was the BJP, as it kept declaring plans of paying homage to Tagore by bringing in their top leaders. ‘Khola Hawa’, a socio-cultural wing of the state BJP, was in charge of the programme, with writer and BJP national executive member Swapan Dasgupta in the foreground. The BJP also roped in Bengali actress Rituparna Sengupta and danseuse Tanusree Shankar.

The day began with urban development minister and Kolkata mayor Firhad Hakim rushing to pay floral tributes to Tagore at his ancestral house before Shah’s scheduled time of visit. Hakim talked about Tagore’s religion and philosophy being that of humanism. Mamata’s programme also happened a few hours before the BJP’s show. Without taking names, she made passing references to the gaffes of BJP leaders in terms of their knowledge and understanding of Tagore. She referred to Nadda’s tweet two years ago apparently about Tagore being born in Santiniketan. ”We hardly have the qualification to define the Poet Laureate...he’s in our soul. Those who have Tagore in their hearts always feel him,” Mamata said.

On the BJP’s part, Shah’s speech was well researched and he tried to talk about the various facets of Tagore’s persona—a seer whose vision became the guiding light for the world, be it in education, philosophy, world view or politics. Tagore’s interactions with Mahatma Gandhi and their mutual respect and admiration were also the talking points.

While the BJP continues to try and embrace Bengali culture and ethos, party workers also feel enthused by ‘Jai Shri Ram’ sloganeering, and they did not stop short of cheering Shah with loud cries of the slogan as he was stepping inside the Science City auditorium on Kolkata’s EM Bypass Road to speak on Tagore. One remembers how such sloganeering on the occasion of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose’s 125th birth anniversary celebrations at Kolkata’s Victoria Memorial on January 23, 2021 in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi had made Mamata decide not to deliver her address and leave the dais in a huff. The incident became a volatile issue and the TMC targeted the BJP with all the more vigour.

Incidentally, both Mamata and Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari of the BJP sang to pay homage to Tagore. Adhikari’s rendition was in the form of a recitation. He ensured the lines got repeated by the audience as it happens in a chorus. The operative line was “mukto koro bhoe” (free us from fear), an appeal he felt was appropriate given the allegations of fearful atmosphere created by the ruling party.

Shah, on his part, made no political statements even though provoked by TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee, who had tossed the question as to why the central investigative agencies were not interrogating Shah’s son Jay Shah even though TMC Birbhum strongman Anubrata Mondal’s daughter had been arrested for alleged ill-gotten wealth.

While the TMC got an opportunity to cry that for all their ‘fake’ love for Bengal icons, the BJP would continue to be a Hindi heartland party, the latter is leaving no stone unturned to assimilate itself with the state’s culture.

The bugle for the Lok Sabha election battle has already been blown in Bengal. Shah has set a target of 35 of 42 Lok Sabha seats for the BJP in the state. The counter has come from Abhishek, who has asked his party leaders and workers to make sure 40 seats are won by the TMC. With Lok Sabha elections not even a year away, expect the competition to only intensify.

Incidentally, both Mamata and the Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari of the BJP, sang songs to pay homage to Tagore. Adhikari’s rendition was in the form of a recitation. He ensured the lines got repeated by the audience as it happens in a chorus. The operative line was “mukto koro bhoi” (free us from fear), an appeal he felt was appropriate given the allegations of fearful atmosphere created by the ruling party.

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