7 August: Punyatithi of Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore & Bangladesh
Today, 7 August, as we pay our Shradhhanjali to the Polymath, Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore, on his 83rd Punyatithi (Tagore Died on 7 August 1941) it is poignant to bring out a profound connection that Tagore, Bengal (both West Bengal and Bangladesh), the Swadeshi movement, and a historic relation that India has with Bangladesh and how and why the events unfolding presently in Bangladesh and its impact is so important for us, India. Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore holds a unique distinction that two of his poems have been befittingly chosen as the national anthems of India and Bangladesh - “Jana Gana Mana” & “Amar Sonar Bangla” respectively. Bangladesh achieved a unique Guinness book record feat of the most people (254,537) singing a national anthem simultaneously on 26 March 2014, at the National Parade Ground in Dhaka.
Interestingly a major event in the history of India and Bangladesh, the Swadeshi Movement, unfolded on this very day, 7 August 1905, whose primary objective was the opposition to the partition of Bengal. This movement was led by Bal Gangadhar Tilak. Just two days ago, on 5 August 2024, Bangladesh witnessed an unprecedented event in its history. Sheikh Hasina, the PM of Bangladesh - the daughter of the founder of Bangladesh, Sheikh Mujibur Rehman – was ousted from power just two days ago in Bangladesh and has been forced to flee the country and land in India. We will soon be witnessing a new era for Bangladesh, which is most likely not be to very friendly to India. Tagore and his Punyatithi and India have an immemorial connect with Bangladesh, which hopefully will continue in the future as well, with the changing times that we are witnessing in Bangladesh.
Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore was the first non-European and the first non-white person to be conferred with the coveted Nobel Prize, which he won for Literature in the year 1913. Tagore continues to be recognized globally as a creative genius and a polymath; a versatile poet, a par excellence short story writer, novelist, playwright, essayist, artist, and rationalist with a scientific bent of mind, as well as a talented painter, whose pictures with their mixture of representation and abstraction began to manifest late into his career. Tagore lived a creative life for eight decades until his passing away at 80 years and three months, on this day, 7th August 1941, at his ancestral home in Calcutta (now Kolkata). Here is a link to my Shradhhanjali paid to Tagore on his Punyatithi.
The mortal remains of Tagore have been confined to the holy fire in the ceremonial Hindu traditions, but then Tagore, the genius, has left behind - for the world and India and Bangladesh - an unprecedented creative legacy and heritage that have remained etched in golden letters in the annals of Indian history, which no fire or any force can obliterate. India and the world are so very privileged to inherit and be inspired by the legacy that Tagore has left for all of us - his rich heritage of words, music, poetry, paintings, ideas, and ideals. Here is a link to my blog where I have paid tribute to the polymath, Tagore on his Jayanti.
Tagore, as stated above, holds a unique distinction that two of his poems have been befittingly chosen as the national anthems of India and Bangladesh - “Jana Gana Mana” & “Amar Sonar Bangla” respectively. Here is my blog on the Indian National Anthem composed by Tagore. https://khened.blogspot.com/2023/12/27-december-jana-gana-mana-national.html
Tagore used colloquial Bengali language, deviating from well-established Sanskrit-influenced, to reshape Bengali literature and music by introducing new prose and verse forms that could connect easily with the masses in their mother tongue, across both West Bengal and Bangladesh.
It was on this day, 7 August 1905, that a formal announcement for the Swadeshi movement was launched in India to express public anguish against the British who had decided to partition undivided Bengal into East and West Bengal, at the instance of Lord Curzon. Although on paper, the decision to partition Bengal was made based on a purported administrative limitation for the British to govern a large Bengal province, in reality, the partition of Bengal helped the British to divide India into religious lines and create fissures between the Bengali Hindus and Muslims, who were bound by common culture, language customs, and traditions. The Swadeshi movement included boycotting British-made goods, using goods produced in India, and public burning of British-made goods. This movement, which was started by Bal Gangadhar Tilak was patronised by Indian National Congress.
Although INC and the Swadeshi movement were not successful in averting the partition of Bengal and that too on religious considerations and averting the division in Indian society on religious lines, it could foresee the machination designs of the British to divide and rule India, a policy which ultimately led to the partition of India and creation of Pakistan (East and West Pakistan) on religious lines. However, East Pakistan was short-lived, and in just 24 years since the formation of East Pakistan violence broke out in East Pakistan when the native Muslim population following their Bengali Culture was suppressed by the rulers from West Pakistan which ultimately led to the liberation of East Pakistan and formation of Bangladesh, in which India played a major role. Here is my blog on the Vijay Diwas and the liberation of Bangladesh
Today when we look at the events that are unfolding in Bangladesh including the violence and loss of life and livelihood, belligerent mob vandalizing the large statue of Mujibur Rahman, their founder, burning temples, and killing of Hindus and other minorities, one shudders to imagine whether in the days, months and years ahead, Bangladesh is headed towards becoming another Pakistan or worse even Afghanistan and in the process forget the deep and profound historic connect that it has with India in general and West Bengal in particular. Time alone will reveal what the future holds for Bangladesh, a country that owes genesis to India and its national anthem to Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore whose Punyatithi we are commemorating today. On this solemn occasion I hope and pray that better sense prevails over the people of Bangladesh and they don't become puppet in the hands of some vested interest people, who may be inimical to the interest of Bangladesh.
Long live Gurudev and the India Bangladesh connection.
जय हे, जय हे, जय जय जय जय हे।
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