By Soumitra Banerji
In 1905, Tagore scripted the famous “Amar Shonar Bangla”…A song of protest; and a plea for unity between the Hindus and Muslims of Bengal during her First Partition…an insane brainwave of Lord Curzon.
For the British, it was a tool of disintegration, following the policy of ‘Divide and Rule’…the Raison Detre for Tagore’s lyrics was integration; and a refusal to allow the British to follow their ill-founded policies.
For Tagore, the unity of Bengal, as it always was, one homogenous cultural entity, was paramount…hence the Song, which was essentially sung as a mark of protest.
Then on the 27 December 1911, the hymn titled ‘Bharoto Bhagyo Bidhata’ was first sung, at the Calcutta session of the Indian National Congress. This commemorated the reuniting of Bengal; after the British Raj relented their mistake of the 1905 Partition of Bengal, in the first place.
Today both the songs of this great maestro are adopted as National Anthems of Bangladesh and India. Although they are two different nations…they continue to be united in culture and the language, as spoken in West Bengal and Bangladesh. Bangladesh adopted ‘Amar Shonar Bangla’ as their National Anthem in 1972, following their Liberation War in 1971…while India had adopted ‘Jana Gana Mana’ on the 24th of January 1950.
As it stands today, both the countries have their own diversities, deriving from the genesis of both the Nation-States. The India-Pakistan Partition of 1947, the Hindu-Muslim divide which was taken advantage of by the Rulers of the Raj way back during the Partition and before…the differences between the two parts of Pakistan, as it then was-East and West Pakistan…leading to the War of Liberation in 1971, supported by India. That was the stage when Bangladesh, as a nation felt grateful to its larger neighbour, both for its economic and military strength; and the way it went about strategising the Liberation.
‘Amar Shonar Bangla’ was adopted as Bangladesh’s National Anthem, showing the popularity and love for Tagore by the Bengali speaking gentry of the newly liberated Nation State…as also their proximity to India, where Tagore had a larger than life status.
It is a profound historical irony that while Rabindra Nath Tagore’s poetry unites the hearts of the two nations – providing the soul for India’s ‘Jana Gana Mana’ and Bangladesh’s ‘Amar Shonar Bangla’ – the political realities of the 21st century often pull them in opposite directions.
The ‘Tagorean Integration’ remains a powerful cultural bedrock, but moving it into the geopolitical sphere, is blocked by three significant walls…Historical Trauma…Resource Scarcity…Changing Domestic Identities.
While Tagore saw a ‘Golden Bengal’ without divisions, the 1947 Partition and the subsequent 1971 Liberation War created hard physical and psychological borders.
In the present geopolitical scenario, Tagore’s syncretic humanism is becoming a distant dream; and issues like –
- The Chicken’s neck Paradox, where India relies on Bangladesh for transit to the North East.
- Border Killings along the 4,096 Kms of India-Bangladesh border, is one of the most complex issues in the world…wherein a perception gap has been created; because of which Public Sentiments on both sides have become hostile despite shared lyrics.
- The Teesta and Water Diplomacy. Tagore’s poems often celebrate the rivers of Bengal, but today those same rivers are the source of intense friction.
- There is a shift in domestic identities; facing a growing tension between ‘Bengali Identity’ (which embraces Tagore) and ‘Muslim Identity’.
Unfortunately, Tagore’s secular influence is sometimes viewed by certain factions as a pro-India or Hindu-centric approach. Specially after the dethroning of Shiekh Hasina; and her safe harbour in India.
The concluding answer is that Culture unites people, but Interests unite States. While a student in Dhaka and a student in Kolkata may both sing Tagore songs with the same passion, their Governments must answer to voters, concerned about jobs, water and security.
However the ‘Tagore Factor’ is not useless and without roots. It acts as a shock absorber. Even when diplomatic relations are at their lowest ebb, as it is now, the shared language and heritage will prevent a total ‘Iron Curtain’ from falling.
(Soumitra Banerji is an acclaimed Indian author and writer, best known for his thought-provoking novel “Liminal Tides”.)
