By Ashis Biswas
KOLKATA: Apparently, if political leaders insist, certain songs composed by ‘Kabiguru’ Rabindranath Tagore cannot be sung except on special occasions. Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has ordered the state police to initiate a case of treason against a Congress leader, who committed the sin of singing ‘Amar Sonar Bangla’ some days ago at a party function in Sribhumi (Karimganj) district in the state.
Explaining his decision, Mr Sarma pointed out that the singer should have known that he was actually singing the national anthem of Bangladesh! Singing it at a meeting on Indian soil was nothing short of an insult to the state as well as the country.
Such issues had created a controversy even before Mr, Sarma made his announcement. Quite apart from the present bad vibes between India and Bangladesh, there had appeared a series of reports claiming that Islamic extremists operating in Bangladesh were seeking to create an independent Muslim Republic of Bengal. It would include west Bengal and also join parts of the Indian Northeast. with Bangladesh. No wonder, Mr Sarma said that since the Congress was known for its support to its vote bank — the Bangladesh “Miyan” Muslims settled in the NE region — no Congress leader would object to the singing of the Bangladeshi national anthem in Assam.
Intelligence agencies in the NE region were generally aware of the long-term plans of Islamic extremists to create a larger ‘free’ Islamic Bengal. They were, currently backed by Turkiye and Pakistan. GoI circles were not unduly perturbed, but the unexpected takeover of Bangladesh by the economist Mohammad Yunus as head of the Bangladesh government on August 8 last year, changed the Northeast situation significantly.
Acting as the stopgap Chief Adviser, Dr Yunus confirmed the worst fears of India government by hobnobbing with Pakistan, Turkiye and the US. He sought to project Bangladesh as the biggest power in India’s Northeast and appealed to China and Pakistan to help him achieve his objectives. Further, he reduced the volume of trade and business with India, while stepping up contacts with Islamic countries. GOI and the ruling Bharatiya Janata party leaders naturally had to take note of the new trends. It was in this context that Mr Sarma had spoken, BJP circles said.
Parties opposing the BJP were far from convinced by the Chief Minister’s reasoning. Right or wrong, Sarma has established his reputation as a strong Muslim basher, with a definite jingoist streak. State Congress leader Gourav Gogoi has pointed out that during the national movement against the first partition of Bengal in 1905, Tagore had composed the song, which became a powerful emotional unifier among Bengalis and even many Indians, all over the world. The Indian National Congress too opposed the Bengal Partition. There could be no conceivable reason therefore for not singing the historically important song.
As for Bangladesh, it came much later. The problem was, Sarma and his ilk are hardly aware of freedom movement, or the anti-British struggles led by the Congress in Bengal or elsewhere, which explained his meaningless arguments.
Sarma however, should not feel defenceless before Mr Gogoi’s arguments, Bengal Congress circles felt. The ruling Trinamul Congress (TMC) too had been involved in a faux pas over the ‘Amar Sonar. Bangla’ song Further, a TMC minister had fared far worse than the Assam Chief Minister, as he tried to sing “Amar Sonar Bangla” somewhat casually at an official ceremony in Bangladesh itself.
The Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee had taken the Minister for Culture, and a singer to boot, Mr Indranil Sen, on her trip to Bangladesh. Somewhat carried away, Mr, Sen whose family had come over from Bangladesh, even while chatting with his audience occasionally, suddenly began singing a few lines from ‘Amar Sonar Bangla’.
There followed an immediate protest from the audience. People stood up, interrupting Sen’s song and pointed out that ‘Amar Sonar Bangla’ was their national anthem. They could not allow anyone no matter how eminent, to sing that song casually, without due solemnity. Chastised, the deflated Sen stopped singing and sat down. He had learnt his lesson, along with the visiting dignitaries from West Bengal.
As for Sarma, he cannot be accused of being anti-Tagore, but he tried to achieve a narrow political objective to defame the Congress and prove that his rival party leader in the state was singing the national anthem of the neighbouring Muslim country to appease the local Miyas before the assembly elections in 2026. In the process, the chief minister created a needless controversy. (IPA Service)
Navigating Turbulence With Defiance While Maintaining Resilience 