On one hand, the fire of violence in Bangladesh is slowly on the verge of calming down, on the other hand, the spark ignited by it is knocking on India. A controversy has started over the demand to remove the statue of Mujibur Rahman in Kolkata. At the same time, the All India Minority Federation has demanded the removal of the statue of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman from Kolkata’s Baker Hostel. At the same time, Kolkata’s academics and intellectuals have strongly criticized the attempt to remove the statue. Meanwhile, in view of the situation in Bangladesh, the police have increased security in the area. A police team from Taltala police station is monitoring the rooms. An officer said, “We have instructions not to allow anyone to come close to the rooms or the statue.”
According to the Times of India, Mujibur Rahman used to live in this hostel 114 years ago. Mujibur used to live here in room number 23 and 24 of Baker Hostel between 1942 and 1947. At that time he was a student of Maulana Azad College, which was earlier known as Islamia College. His bed, table, chair, cupboard and books are still preserved in these rooms. A statue of him was installed in the corridor outside these two rooms. This statue was installed in 2010 and was unveiled by former Bangladesh Foreign Minister Dipu Moni. Later Bangladeshi sculptor Liton Pal Rony made a new statue and the old statue was replaced in 2019.
There should not be a statue in that area – Minority Federation
The current controversy started when the All India Minority Federation demanded the removal of the statue located near the mosque. Federation general secretary Mohammad Qamaruzzaman said, “We have been demanding this for a long time. There is a mosque nearby and people offer namaz there. There should not be a statue in that area. However, we have no objection to installing Bangabandhu’s statue anywhere else in the city.”
Kolkata is proud to have produced these leaders- Tanveer Nasreen
This demand has been strongly criticized by intellectuals. Filmmaker Gautam Ghosh said, “Mujibur Rahman is considered the father of the nation in Bangladesh. This is part of history. This statue was also shown in my documentary.” Tanvir Nasreen, head of the history department of Burdwan University, believes that Kolkata has a rich heritage of three people who contributed significantly in the creation of first Pakistan and later Bangladesh. Suhrawardy, Fazlul Haq and Mujibur Rahman. All of them had their careers in Kolkata. Kolkata is proud of producing these three leaders.