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Tagore's message of communal harmony with a Rakhi

114 years ago, Rabindranath Tagore used the sacred thread of Rakhi to conjoin two lands divided by the then Imperial British administration
Last Updated 22 August 2021, 07:34 IST

Rakhi, or Raksha Bandhan, symbolises love and unity between a girl and her brother, as she ties an amulet on her wrist. But 114 years ago, Rabindranath Tagore used the sacred thread of Rakhi to conjoin two lands divided by the then Imperial British administration, a stroke that carried with it the burden of political strategy.

The Bengal Presidency, as the region was known, comprised of Bengal with modern-day Bihar, parts of Chhattisgarh, Orissa, and Assam and was the largest province with a population of 78.5 million. Bengal was the furnace of India's independence movement and its huge geographical area made life difficult for the British administration, which is why they brought in the infamous policy of divide and rule. Initially, they planned to divide just based on language, but then Lord Curzon, the Viceroy of India, decided to create a new region for the Muslim population.

The orders were passed in August 1905 and came into effect on October 16. It resulted in a great uproar in the Bengali society, with a visible Hindu-Muslim rift. Muslim leaders, who initially thought the partition disadvantageous, gave their assent after the Muslim majority province of Eastern Bengal and Assam were created. The Hindu protest against the partition was seen as interference in a Muslim province. While the Hindu Bengali leaders feared that they would be reduced to a minority in Muslim-dominated regions, Muslim Bengali leaders saw that as an opportunity to have their separate land and create an independent identity.

When the British government trying to divide Bengal and the Hindu-Muslim unity, Rabindranath Tagore appeared as the beacon of peace. Always a visionary, the bard decided to use the occasion of Raksha Bandhan which coincided with the partition as a weapon against the prevalent loathing in a society.

In the month of Shravan, the 'Kobiguru' (as he is affectionately called in Bengali) gave a clarion call to the two communities, Hindus and Muslims, to tie Rakhi on each other’s hand. The act sent out a message of unity and brotherhood laced with defiance against the British order.

Tagore was by then was already a prominent figure in the Bengali society (he would win the Nobel Prize in 1913), and hundreds from both communities responded to his call. The streets of Kolkata, Dhaka, Barishal, Chittagong, Rangpur, Sylhet were thronged with enthusiastic people tying rakhi on each other's hands. Though the move failed to deter the British administration, it shed new light on Raksha Bandhan.

Fresh protests arose that refused to die down, resulting in the unification of Bengal when King George announced in December 1911 that eastern Bengal would be assimilated into the Bengal Presidency. Bengali-dominated districts were once again unified and Assam, Bihar, and Orissa were separated..

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(Published 22 August 2021, 04:23 IST)

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