Kolkata: Hundreds of residents went on a rampage Monday at the Poush Mela ground of Visva-Bharati University campus, founded by Rabindranath Tagore, in Bolpur’s Santiniketan area of West Bengal’s Birbhum district, around 170 kilometres away from state capital Kolkata.
Residents, allegedly led by a local Trinamool Congress MLA, gathered at the ground at around 9 am and vandalised two gates of the university to protest against the construction of a boundary wall around the mela ground, witnesses told ThePrint.
The protesters, some of who belonged to the newly formed organisation ‘Mela Prangan Bachao Samity’ (Save Mela Ground Samity), also vandalised construction materials stocked by the university to erect the boundary wall, which has now been completely damaged, the witnesses added.
Eight people have been arrested so far, said Shyam Singh, Superintendent of Police, Birbhum. “The situation is under control now,” he added.
While local media reports stated Visva-Bharati has been shut for an indefinite period in the wake of the incident, there was no official confirmation on this.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, meanwhile, said she doesn’t want any construction at the university as it “against Gurudev’s (Tagore) idea of Visva-Bharati”.
“It is a central university and I should not comment. But the governor called me after tweeting. He also informed me about the law and order problem… While the construction (of the boundary wall) was on, there were some outsiders present. The students and their friends along with some locals were protesting against such construction,” Banerjee said.
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“I have asked the superintendent of police and the district magistrate to hold a meeting with the V-C, the students and other stakeholders, and settle the issue,” she added.
Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar tweeted about the protest, calling the situation at Visva-Bharati “alarming”.
Situation of law and order in Visva Bharati is alarming. Am trying to be in touch with CM to secure peace in temple of learning.
As per VC violators of law have entered campus and destroyed property.
CS, HS, DM and SP @MamataOfficial have not responded to call of Visva Bharati.
— Governor West Bengal Jagdeep Dhankhar (@jdhankhar1) August 17, 2020
Following the incident, the Visva-Bharati authorities held a high-level meeting about the safety and security situation in the area.
ThePrint reached the university spokesperson via phone calls for a comment on the matter, but there was no response until the publication of this report.
Trouble brewing since July
Local Trinamool Congress leaders claimed that the incident was “a spontaneous movement” by the residents in response to the decision of the Visva-Bharati authorities cancelling the 125-year-old Poush Mela and constructing a boundary wall around the fairground.
Tension has been simmering in the area since the first week of July when the university authorities decided to cancel the Poush Mela altogether, citing “shocking” expenses and “nightmarish” conditions faced by those living in the vicinity of the grounds where Poush Mela is held every year.
The Executive Council, the highest decision making body of Visva-Bharati, decided to scrap the event, with Vice-Chancellor Prof. Bidyut Chakrabarty claiming that the university was “ill-equipped” to handle such an event.
In a note addressing “colleagues, students and other stakeholders”, dated 4 July, Chakrabarty called the festival “nightmarish”, as “the campus of Visva-Bharati is inaccessible to those who serve the university throughout the year”.
Since then, there have been several protests by local residents as they claimed that the fair not only carries a cultural lineage, but is also a source of earning for many villagers. The decision drew flak from several sections of the society.
The university authority, however, stuck to its stand and decided to construct a boundary wall around the ground, work for which started only a few days ago.
But a mob Monday not just vandalised the under-construction boundary wall, but also ransacked the temporary office of the university set up near the ground, and even damaged properties on the university premises.
On 15 August, the V-C in a missive uploaded on the university’s website, wrote: “It is tragic that instead of working to fulfill Gurudev’s dreams, we have undermined the legacy and potential of this institution by patronising the partisan and often nefarious interests of various local agents, who don’t have the institution’s best interest at heart. Our administrative efforts are deliberately misinterpreted and massively vilified.”
TMC distances itself from protest
Videos of the incident showed local Trinamool Congress MLA Naresh Bauri with the protesters.
Bauri, however, told the local media that it was a “spontaneous” movement by local residents and his party has nothing to do with it.
Senior Trinamool Congress leaders distanced themselves from the incident, calling it an “agitation” by the residents against the decision of the university to erect a boundary wall and that it was a “manifestation of their anger and anxiety”.
Speaking to ThePrint, Asit Mal, Trinamool MP of Bolpur, said, “Our party never asked anyone to ransack a university and damage its properties. I was told that one of our MLAs, Naresh Bauri, was there. Naresh is a former student of the university and he is the vice-president of the organisation (the party’s Bolpur town committee) there. He is also a member of the Mela Bachao committee. He might have reached the ground after local residents called him there. It was a spontaneous movement by the locals.
“Moreover, the BJP is now trying to provoke people in many areas and inciting violence. This is a common trend in Bengal as they are eyeing 2021 elections,” he added.
About the presence of Bauri at the protest, SP Singh said that he is yet to get a complaint in this matter.
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