PM Modi’s Tagore Comments At Visva-Bharati University Draw Sharp Trinamool Congress Reaction


Gurudev wanted entire humanity to benefit from India’s spiritual awakening, PM Modi said.

New Delhi:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, addressing the Visva-Bharati University in Bengal on its centenary today, said its iconic founder Rabindranath Tagore’s vision was the essence of “Aatmanirbhar Bharat” or self-reliant India. He also said called the university embodied Indian nationalist sentiment during Independence with the guidance of Rabindranath Tagore.

“Guided by Gurudev (Rabindranath Tagore) Visva-Bharati presented a strong image of Indian nationalist sentiment during Independence. Gurudev wanted entire humanity to benefit from India’s spiritual awakening. Atmanirbhar Bharat vision is also a derivative of this sentiment,” PM Modi said in a virtual address to Visva-Bharati University in Shantiniketan.

“Be it the Visva-Bharati University, Banaras Hindu University, Aligarh Muslim University, Delhi University, Jamia Millia Islamia University, Andhra University, Anna Malai University, and several others are premier institutions and came up around the same time, in the same era, and gave momentum to India’s thirst for knowledge. Today, as more and more people are getting a good education, we now have to work to build a strong and wise nation – one that is self-reliant. We must take inspration from all those who have contributed to making India great over the centuries and millennia. We must also keep in mind the India that our freedom fighters envisioned when they fought of our independence. That is why we are now at the stage to create an Aatmanirbhar Bharat.”

The tribute to one of Bengal’s most famous sons is significant at a time an acrimonious campaign for next year’s election has seen the ruling Trinamool Congress and its main challenger, PM Modi’s BJP, fighting over the state’s legacy and biggest icons. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress accused the centre of “insulting” her by not inviting her to the event.

During his speech, the Prime Minister also highlighted Tagore’s connect to his home state Gujarat, perhaps as a retort to Mamata Banerjee, who has repeatedly said she will not allow Bengal to be turned into Gujarat.

“When I speak about Gurudev, I cannot help but indulge in speaking a little about his visits to Gujarat. He used to visit his elder brother who was posted there. He even wrote two of his famous poems whilst in Gujarat. Why I say all this, it is because it shows how India has always been about diverse cultures coming together and living in harmony. We are a nation of varied cultures, languages, clothing, food, and much more, yet a lot binds us together and it is this unity in diversity that is our biggest strength. It is all about ‘Ek Bharat, Shresth Bharat‘,” said the Prime Minister. He also referred to Tagore’s sister-in-law, saying she introduced modern sari-draping to India.

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The Trinamool Congress reacted sharply to the PM’s comments and also called him out on “pronunciation and factual errors”.

Bengal minister Bratya Bose said the attempt to link Tagore and Gujarat was inexplicable.

“Tagore’s brother who was in Gujarat was not the oldest brother. His wife’s name was Gyanadanandini, not what the PM said. The story about Gyanadanandini and the sari pallu is a myth, not true,” said Mr Bose.

He also critiqued PM Modi’s comments on Visva-Bharati symbolizing nationalism. “The PM spoke of nationalism, Tagore said nationalism was the most divisive thing. Using religion to divide was not what Tagore advocated. His novel ‘Gora’ was about religion and what it eventually means to man. His novel ‘Ghare Baire’s’ message was that nationalism is an addiction that divides,” the senior Trinamool leader remarked.



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