How a Tagore statue went missing from Dhaka university, then reappeared

An unusual debate has been sparked by the installation and subsequent removal of a sculpture from the Dhaka University campus. A newly erected statue of Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore that had vanished from the oldest university campus in Bangladesh was discovered in fragments in a landfill, according to The Shillong Times. Officials from the university acknowledge that they removed the statue. However, the students reassembled the fragments and reinstalled the statue at the gate of the campus. But why did this happen given that Tagore had a deep bond with Bangladesh? Let’s take a look at the controversy. Also read: Lakadbaggha: Rabindranath Tagore’s Purano Sei Diner Katha to be reintroduced in Anshuman Jha, Ridhi Dogra’s action-drama The ‘disappearing’ sculpture The controversy over the statue broke out when Bangladesh’s annual book fair, the Ekushey Boi Mela, was taking place on the campus of Dhaka University. The Tagore sculpture was positioned at one of the event’s entrances. The original statue, which stood 19.5 feet tall and was composed of thermocol, bamboo, and pages taken from old books, had bright blue tape stuck across its mouth. A red nail had been inserted into the book Tagore was holding, making it appear bleeding. The sculpture disappeared on 16 February and the university has claimed responsibility. Three days after the statue disappeared, students from the Dhaka University College of Fine Arts, who created the original statue, claimed to have found fragments of it, including its head, in a campus trash dump. The students reassembled the fragments and reinstalled the statue. However, in the resurrection sculpture, Tagore’s head is positioned at an odd angle on bamboo scaffolding that somewhat resembles an erect body.

They also hanged a banner that read, “Tagore has been ‘forcibly disappeared’” – a message aimed at the Sheikh Hasina government, according to The Daily Star. Also read: Rabindranath Tagore Death Anniversary: Lesser-known facts about ‘Bard of Bengal’ The debate over free speech According to students of the university, the statue was meant to represent demonstrations against the growing governmental censorship. Shimul Kumbhakar, a Master’s student and a senior office-bearer of the left-leaning Bangladesh Chhatra Union, told ThePrint that the sculpture was made to raise awareness of the importance of freedom of expression. According to him, the students want the statue to stay on display throughout February or at least until 21 February – which is observed as Language Day to honour Bengal’s language revolution (BSU). Kumbhakar said, “Tagore is a symbol of free thought and creativity, values that are important for our society.” However, the university doesn’t seem to agree. AKS Gholam Rabbani, the proctor at Dhaka University, told ThePrint, “It was not a statue of Tagore but a caricature." He added, “This is not university culture. This is apasanskriti (distorted culture) fuelled by some politics. And we will not allow it.” As per The Shillong Times, he requested the students to remove the sculpture, adding that “they should not do anything that disrupts the normal course of education.” The university had previously prevented students from erecting a statue honouring Bangladesh’s founding father, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, according to ThePrint. “We stopped it not once but twice,” Rabbani told the outlet. Yet, BSU saw the university’s move as an attack on free speech, which is what they originally set out to protest. Rezwan Hoque Mukto, an office bearer of the BSU central committee, told ThePrint, “It (the crackdown) is so severe in Bangladesh, even Tagore can’t open his mouth here and because he protested by taping up his lips, he was made to disappear.” While Dr Shamsad Mortuza, professor of English at Dhaka University wrote in The Dailystar, “It is not an exaggeration to say Tagore is more celebrated in Bangladesh today than in West Bengal. Then why tape him and pierce his work with a bleeding nail? Why didn’t the protesters choose the rebel poet Kazi Nazrul Islam, whose body lies in the heart of the Dhaka University campus? Or the persecuted community of Bauls?” “If the sculpture was intended to highlight the publisher that was initially denied entry to the fair for publishing books that challenge the official development discourse, Tagore’s Gitanjali is a wrong choice. But the hasty removal of the protest art by the authorities has simply turned it into the right choice,” he said. The professor added, “However, the DU authorities’ action has given the sculpture its desired public attention with an added agenda of ‘forced disappearance’. They could have easily given the student body a 24-hour warning for a damaging public property by installing an unauthorised sculpture that allegedly affects the integrity of the neighbouring Raju Memorial Sculpture.” Also read: Rabindranath Tagore Birth Anniversary: Here are some famous quotes of the ‘Biswakabi’ Tagore – an intrinsic part of Bangladesh India and Bangladesh – which may be separated by borders, are united by culture and Tagore. Bangladesh’s national anthem “Amar Shonar Bangla” was written by Tagore in 1905. The author also penned the Indian national anthem – “Jana Gana Mana.” The status of the greatest literary icon, Tagore is powerful. There are universities and institutions named after him as well as national-level celebrations of his anniversaries. According to Different Truths, the poetic soul of Tagore was “a mixture of urban Calcutta and rural Bengal (Bangladesh).” It explains that “if Calcutta was the making of his brain, Bengal was the making of his heart. The citified environment of Calcutta gave him the warmth of reason while the rustic charm of Bengal gave him the depth of emotion. His life in Calcutta was an experience of a renaissance and his life in Bengal was an experience of introspection or self-analysis, and this perfect blend of sophistication and naivety contributed to the making of the great literary genius.  Had there been no stay in East Bengal, Tagore would have been a split entity– a divided personality.” With inputs from agencies Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News , India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook ,  Twitter  and  Instagram .