Candle-light march at VB against Tagore Bangla property vandalism
Times of India | 24 June 2025
123 Santiniketan: To protest against the recent vandalism of Rabindranath Tagore's ancestral home in Sajadpur, Bangladesh, the Visva-Bharati community, led by vice chancellor Prabir Kumar Ghosh, organised a candlelight march on Monday evening. The march also saw participation from Bangladeshi students studying at Visva-Bharati. Despite the political turmoil in their homeland, they decided to joined the protest. A Bangladeshi student, requesting anonymity, expressed embarrassment over the incident and hoped for govt action against the perpetrators. The march, which began at the Upasana Griha (glass temple), traversed the campus, protesting against the June 8 attack on the heritage site — a Kacharibari (revenue collection house) — once frequented by Tagore. Ghosh expressed the community's collective outrage, stating, "The miscreants in Bangladesh caused serious damage to a heritage house owned by the Tagore family and related to the life and works of Rabindranath Tagore. We all — the students, teachers, employees, and ashramiks — strongly condemn this incident. This house is a part of our heritage. We will protest against such incidents. "Sabujkali Sen, a former student and pro-VC of Visva-Bharati, highlighted the historical significance of ‘Kacharibaris', noting that Tagore penned many literary masterpieces during his visits there. "The attack is on Tagore's tradition," Sen said, adding that many in Bangladesh are shocked but feel helpless. The incident already prompted India to condemn the attack. India on June 13 said it viewed the vandalism as part of a broader pattern of "systematic attempts by extremists to erase the symbols of tolerance and eviscerate the syncretic culture and cultural legacy of Bangladesh". External affairs ministry spokesman Randhir Jaiswal also called the attack "a disgrace to Tagore's inclusive philosophy. "CM Mamata Banerjee, on June 13, wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging him to take up the issue with Bangladesh. Banerjee emphasised that Tagore's legacy extended beyond Bengal, stating, "What is vandalised is not a mere house, but a towering fountain of creativity in our subcontinent. "