By Arun Srivastava
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on June 20 at Tarkeshwar near Kolkata spun a fresh yarn, promising to create a “New Bengal” (Viksit Bangla), as he christened the day “Paschimbanga Divas” (West Bengal Day), since it was on this day that BJP/RSS icon Syama Prasad Mookerjee, who founded the Jana Sangh, “created Bengal, for Hindus”. PM Modi also accused the Indian National Congress of “whitewashing” the history of the birth of the present-day West Bengal for the sake of political agenda, adding that a “new history” would be written inspired by Paschimbanga Divas.
PM Modi said that Bengal would not have remained a part of India, if Mookerjee had not voted in favour of Bengal’s partition, chiefly along religious lines, and mobilised public opinion. As per PM Modi, the Congress had abandoned Bengal during Partition, having adopted a politics of appeasement (towards Muslims). Further, Modi claimed that it was in Tarakeswar where Mookerjee had, from April 4 to 7 in 1947, organised a conference that adopted a resolution saying the Hindu-majority part of Bengal — today’s West Bengal — would not become a part of East Pakistan (today’s Bangladesh). Master narrator of fairy lies, PM Modi attributed the passage of the resolution on June 20, 1947, by the Bengal Assembly to Mookerjee.
Modi deliberately refused to mention that of the 79 legislators representing Hindu-dominated districts who were present and voted on the resolution in the Assembly, 58 favoured West Bengal remaining in India. Of these, 55 were Congress members, two were communists and Shyama Prasad Mookerjee was the lone Hindu Mahasabha member. Still BJP has been claiming that had Mookerjee not intervened, present-day West Bengal would have become part of East Pakistan. While Mookerjee and the Hindu Mahasabha strongly advocated for the partition of Bengal on religious lines to create a separate Hindu-majority homeland within India, it was ultimately the vote of the Congress legislative party in the Bengal Assembly (which held more than 50 seats) on June 20, 1947, that formally passed the resolution to partition the state and keep West Bengal in India.
Modi and the saffron ecosystem are aggressively positioning Mookerjee as the saviour and foundational architect of Bengal to challenge the state’s traditional political narrative. During the ‘statehood celebrations’ on June 20, 2026, Modi emphasised that Mookerjee’s leadership during the 1947 Partition prevented the entirety of Bengal from being incorporated into Pakistan. Modi asserted that when conspiracies arose to merge all of Bengal into Pakistan, Mookerjee mobilised public opinion to demand a partition that kept the Hindu-majority western districts within India. Bizarrely Modi credited Mookerjee with launching this movement, which pressured British authorities and the Muslim League to accept the creation of West Bengal.
By celebrating Paschimbanga Divas (West Bengal Day) on June 20, the BJP seeks to project its fight against cross-border infiltration as a direct continuation of Mookerjee’s vision to protect Bengali culture. Shockingly, the Bengali middle and bhadralok class enthused by Modi have forgotten that the date is a sombre, painful reminder of the trauma and bloodshed of Partition, rather than a day of celebration, thereby endorsing PM Modi’s objective to further polarise the state’s electorate. Within one month of coming to power, precisely on June 3, state BJP government accepted the 2023Central notification of June 20 as Paschimbanga Divas. As a counter to the Centre’s move, former CM Mamata Banerjee had moved a resolution in the Assembly in 2023, declaring Poila Boisakh (April 15) as the state’s foundation day, triggering statewide BJP protests.
Shockingly enough, Modi does not feel ashamed of distorting and negating the staggering contribution of thousands of Bengalis in the independence struggle. Bengal under Congress and Left leaders and activists was an undeniable powerhouse and epicentre of the Indian independence movement. Known as the centre of the Bengali Renaissance, the state produced prominent thinkers and reformers who laid the cultural and educational groundwork for modern Indian nationalism. Following the controversial 1905 Partition of Bengal by Lord Curzon, Bengalis spearheaded the Swadeshi and Boycott movements, when Mookerjee was even not present on the political horizon.
The Swadeshi movement had transformed the freedom struggle from an elite petitioning process into a mass uprising. Bengal has been traditionally a hotbed for militant resistance. Organisations like the Anushilan Samiti and Jugantar, led by figures such as Khudiram Bose, Bagha Jatin, and Subhas Chandra Bose, led armed uprisings and underground networks against British rule. The later stages of the movement were defined by Mahatma Gandhi’s pan-Indian Non-Cooperation, Civil Disobedience, and Quit India campaigns, which actively mobilized peasants, workers, and leaders from Gujarat, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and the South.
While the Congress accused Modi and BJP of weaving a misleading narrative around June 20 because the party and its forebearers had no role in the freedom movement, the state CPI(M) too castigated Modi for “distorting history”. CPI(M)’s state secretary MdSalim said; “After the RSS-BJP combine failed to project Mookerjee as the saviour of Kashmir, they are trying to resurrect him through Bengal. What can be achieved with one vote out of 58 votes?”
Undeniably, Modi’s emphasis on Mookerjee’s role for observing Pashchimbanga Divas reflects a calculated ideological and political strategy to culturally root the BJP in West Bengal and displace the relatively secular Bengali culture and ethos. Common people still hold the notion that BJP is imposing its non-Bengali culture which negates Bengali tradition and identity. If at all Modi was really interested to promote Bengali culture and identity, he could have lent support to the traditional beliefs. The “Bangla Divas” (or Paschimbanga Divas) is a highly contested political issue and reflects deeply polarised viewpoints on how Bengali history and identity should be commemorated.
The saffron ecosystem has been trying to tag the Pashcimbanga Divas with the issue of Bengalis securing a homeland. Modi intends to convey the false narrative that before Mookerjee voted for Hindu Bengal, the Bengalis were homeless. He contends that celebrating June 20 honours the survival of Bengali Hindus and the crucial role played by Mookerjee in maintaining West Bengal’s place within the Indian Union. It is now obvious that RSS controlled by the Chitpavan Brahmans of Maharashtra and Modi have long been conspiring to uproot the Bengalis from their cherished identity and culture.
The previous West Bengal government under TMC had already declared Poila Boisakh, the first day of the Bengali new year, as the state day and “Banglar Mati, Banglar Jal” written by Tagore as the state song. Obviously, in this background there was no need for having a separate Pashchimbanga Divas. Prominent historian Joya Chatterji in her book Bengal Divided has correctly argued that attributing West Bengal’s creation to a single individual oversimplifies history.
Evaluating the history of Bengal and its people requires viewing its multi-century trajectory through three primary lenses—civilizational, colonial, and modern—rather than solely through the lens of its contemporary political foundation. Modi’s June 20 declaration and celebrations centre specifically on the events of 1947. Modi negates Bengal Renaissance, beginning in the late 18th century, and foundational thinkers and reformers like Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, and Rabindranath Tagore, who reshaped education, literature, science, and social structures, thus electrifying Bengali culture and society. Later Swami Vivekananda, Sri Aurobindo, and Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose bolstered the ideological foundations for India’s freedom movement.
By observing June 20 as Paschimbanga Divas, Modi has tried to demean icons like Rabindranath Tagore and Bengali culture and literature. For him social and cultural and even political journey begins from June 20. Bengali identity did not exist before that day. Tagore deeply valued Poila Boishakh (the Bengali New Year) as an important day of cultural renewal, harmony, and purification (which is why he wrote the iconic welcoming song “Eso He Boishakh”). Using a culturally unifying day like Poila Boishakh to celebrate the essence of Bengali identity is completely different from observing it as a modern “Statehood Foundation Day.”
Statehood foundation days formally mark the day a specific political or administrative entity was formed. Tagore’s cultural celebrations were about the broader, timeless Bengali identity, not modern state boundaries or political demarcations. Acknowledging that Poila Boishakh is fundamentally a New Year and harvest festival does not diminish its cultural significance to Bengalis. It simply separates timeless cultural heritage from specific political administration dates. Modi through his act has lowered the image of Tagore who believed in human unity over rigid nationalism. He used festivals to bring different communities together. He worried that extreme local pride could lead to division or exclusion of others.
Culturally, Bengal transcends political borders. The Bengali language, literature, and shared traditions (such as Poila Baisakh and Durga Puja) represent a continuous heritage spanning centuries. Modi and his bhadralok middleclass andhabhakts ought to realise that on June 20, 1947, the Bengal Legislative Assembly did not “give birth” to West Bengal. Legislators met to vote on three distinct proposals: whether to remain united and join India, remain united and join Pakistan, or partition the state. (IPA Service)
