A portrait of Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore has been defaced with black ink in Bangladesh’s Khulna, with posters rejecting his place in the country’s cultural heritage put up beside it. The incident has drawn criticism from local officials and cultural activists, while police have begun an investigation.The mural, painted on the boundary wall of Khulna Railway Station, was among several portraits of prominent personalities from the region’s art, literature and cultural history. However, the murals of other figures on the same wall were left untouched.These included those of folk singer Fakir Lalon Shah, painter SM Sultan, poet Kazi Nazrul Islam, former prime minister Khaleda Zia, former president Ziaur Rahman and writer Michael Madhusudan Dutta.The wall also carries paintings depicting the July uprising, the Sundarbans, the Sixty Dome Mosque and Bangladesh’s jute industry. Khulna City Corporation (KCC) had commissioned the artwork ahead of Prime Minister Tarique Rahman’s visit to the city.
No place for Tagore’s place in Bangladesh
Residents spotted the damage on Friday morning. Two posters had also been put up beside the mural, one of which carried a message directly targeting Tagore and his association with India.“There is no place for Tagore, who was hostile to Muslims and East Bengal, in Titumir’s Bengal. There is no place for glorifying India,” the poster read.The message appeared to object to Tagore being honoured in Bangladesh, portraying him as hostile to Muslims and East Bengal while opposing what it described as the glorification of India.
Police launch investigation
Khulna Sadar Police Station Officer-in-Charge Lokman Hossain said police received information about the defacement on Friday afternoon and began investigating.“All businesses across the road were closed on Friday, making it difficult to determine who defaced the mural and when,” The Dhaka Tribune quoted Hossain as saying.KCC Administrator Nazrul Islam Manju condemned the act, saying the portraits were intended to encourage independent thinking among children and adolescents.“By defacing the portrait, they have exposed their narrow-mindedness and sick mentality,” the newspaper quoted him as saying.Shariful Islam Salim, a cultural activist and general secretary of Nattyalok, suspected that an organised group was behind the incident. He said similar acts had taken place in Dhaka and warned that other prominent personalities could also be targeted.
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“They have carried out similar acts in Dhaka as well. These incidents are being orchestrated deliberately. Those responsible must be identified and brought to justice. This may not stop with Rabindranath; they could target other eminent personalities too,” The Daily Star quoted him as saying.Salim added that Tagore’s writings and philosophy had encouraged generations to embrace free thought, secularism and human dignity.The defacement in Khulna comes weeks after Tagore’s mural was targeted in Bangladesh’s capital, Dhaka, in October.Police detained four people in connection with that incident, including Al Nur Mohammad Ayash, member secretary of the State Dialogue Forum, The Daily Star reported.
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