Mamata Banerjee Pays Tribute To Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, Slams BJP Over Attacks On Bengali Language
Speaking to the media on Tuesday, July 29, 2025, CM Banerjee greeted Vidyasagar as "our heritage, our pride," underscoring his everlasting contributions to education in Bengal and India, more specifically his persistent fight for raising the status of women. "Much of what we are today is because of his contribution—beginning with that Barnaparichay," she said, mentioning his foundational primer for learning Bengali.
বাংলার নবজাগরণের প্রাণপুরুষ পণ্ডিত ঈশ্বরচন্দ্র বিদ্যাসাগরের প্রয়াণ দিবসে জানাই আমার বিনম্র শ্রদ্ধাঞ্জলি।
বিদ্যাসাগর আমাদের ঐতিহ্য, আমাদের গর্ব। বাংলা তথা ভারতে শিক্ষাক্ষেত্রে তাঁর অবদান এবং নারীর অবস্থার উন্নতির জন্য তাঁর লড়াই আমরা কখনো ভুলতে পারব না। আমরা আজ যা, তা অনেকটাই… — Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) July 29, 2025
The Chief Minister highlighted the relevance of Vidyasagar's life and ideas in the present day, particularly in what she termed as an era of "attacks on the Bengali language and Bengalis throughout the country under the leadership of the BJP."
Making a direct reference to an old incident, Banerjee stated, "Those who are targeting Bengal and Bengalis today are the same people who, during the bicentennial of Vidyasagar, damaged his statue at Vidyasagar College in Kolkata." She pointed out her government's initiatives to repair the statue and celebrate his bicentennial throughout the year in all of Bengal with different respectful celebrations.
Enumerating the commitment of her government towards safeguarding and upholding the legacy of Vidyasagar, CM Banerjee mentioned several initiatives. They include the establishment of the 'Birsingh Development Council' in his hometown, Birsingh, as well as several development, renovation, and beautification initiatives. She also spoke about the redesign of the museum at his Badurbagan home in Kolkata, the upgradation of Vidyasagar College as a heritage college, the establishment of an archive in his name at Vidyasagar College, and granting scholarships to the Metropolitan Institution in Kolkata, which he established. "A lot has already been done, is being done, and will be done in the future," she asserted.
Closing out her memorial, Chief Minister Banerjee again spoke out in her deep admiration for Vidyasagar, hoping that Bengalis would be "educated by his teachings" and "walk the path with the same resolute and defiant spirit as his."
The event provided a setting for the Chief Minister not only to pay tribute to a legendary social reformer but also to reiterate her government's position on defending Bengali culture and identity in the face of political rivalry.
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Yet when the pandemic hit, we saw them walk back to their villages on highways. Is Delhi better prepared now if something like COVID strikes again? VK Saxena: The government will be able to handle it. Around 24 hospitals are under construction. But the problem is that there was no planning about the budget for equipment or manpower. Even after four years, some hospitals are only about 20-40 per cent complete. Maybe five or six hospitals are over 90 per cent done. The (previous) government should have been better prepared. Delhi is also the national capital. And this is not how a national capital should be. Most people living here are from the labour class because things like electricity and water are free. There is nothing wrong with that. But India is a powerful country and if its capital looks like a slum city, how are you going to project it? Mr Kant, you were the CEO of NITI Aayog. Do you think our chief ministers recognise the importance and challenges of urbanisation? Amitabh Kant: Before I became the CEO of NITI Aayog, I was the CEO of the Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor. I met with all the CMs and told them to give us about 150-200 sq km to build new cities but every CM refused. I went to Mr Modi and he said, 'What will you do with just 150? I will give you 750 sq km.' Now Dholera City is being turned into a semiconductor city. India's 15 major cities make up almost 35 per cent of its GDP. You improve the cities and the GDP will get a big boost. You paint cities as hubs of innovation and growth but there's violence over language in Mumbai, a shocking murder in Patna and a rape incident in Kolkata. Urbanisation might not be the silver bullet solution. Amitabh Kant: I agree with you. You need an open-minded approach. We have to create a culture of bonhomie. Indian men need to learn to respect both Indian and foreign women. We need a lot more private entrepreneurs. Sunil Munjal is building the Brij Museum and Kiran Nadar is creating a world-class museum here. Mr Saxena, how do we build that civic culture in Delhi? VK Saxena: Dwarka is thriving after it was redeveloped. We need to build new cities the same way. I am trying to turn Narela into an education hub. We have also identified 75 acres for a world-class sports complex. The DDA has been told to acquire the land and develop a new city in relation to the UAR2. Right now, there are places where unauthorised constructions have already happened and you cannot just demolish them. Just last week I made a decision. Now, whenever DDA land is allocated, the fees charged will be one per cent instead of the earlier 10 per cent to attract maximum investment. Similarly, commercial rates that used to double are now 1.5 times. How do you build a brand for a country where women's labour participation rate is one of the lowest in the world? Amitabh Kant: The latest survey shows the women labour participation ratio has gone up. In 2015, only 18 per cent of women had bank accounts. Today, 90 per cent of women have bank accounts. Around 70 per cent of the Mudra loans have gone to women. We provided 30 million electric connections to households and 120 million women who used to cook on firewood are now cooking on gas. All these household water connections have been made in the name of women. VK Saxena: When I was the chairman of the Khadi Commission, 90 per cent of the workforce was women and the turnover reached Rs 15,000 crore. Mr Kant, you spoke about how states must compete… there should be data and naming and shaming. But not all states are equal. Don't you think cooperation is needed more than competition? Amitabh Kant: We have had cooperation for the last 75 years, we need brutal competition… among big states, among small states. When I was an officer, I did not know if my district was improving because data used to come six years later. Today, data is available in real-time. You can eliminate corruption, focus on outcomes, put the results out in the public domain and hold those who are not performing accountable. There are three subjects under the L-G's control — land, public order and the police. The previous L-Gs mostly stuck to these three areas but you moved into other domains as well. VK Saxena: I am not just the L-G of Delhi, I am also the city's administrator. If the Yamuna is dirty, it is my responsibility to ensure it is clean. It is my duty to get the Najafgarh drain cleaned. I started cleaning it. Unfortunately, my role was stayed when the CM went to the Supreme Court. If any positive work is happening, it should be supported, not opposed. *** Anant Goenka: One thing I find common across India is that there is no awareness of the culture of one's city. Amitabh Kant: The people of Delhi are the most culturally illiterate people. We need to create museums and let young students go, learn and educate themselves. And the wealthy people in Delhi will have to play an important role in this. VK Saxena: Delhi can become a capital of heritage. More than 10,000 heritage buildings in Delhi are lying in bad shape. I visited Mehrauli October 2022 and saw dilapidated structures. I asked the DDA to start restoring it. Today at least 2-3 thousand people come daily. We have drifted away from our heritage. We need to bring people closer to it. Suhel Seth: Why don't you take over Gurugram? Just take it over in a non-hostile way so there's some form of governance. You've got a Chief Minister who's useless. A municipal commissioner who's absent. If you want Brand India to succeed, every part of Brand India has to work. Amitabh Kant: Gurgaon today pays more taxes to Haryana than all the other cities combined. And if you can't manage Gurgaon properly, it shows a huge failure of governance. Sonia Bhutani: What do you both like to do besides work? Amitabh Kant: I believe in working out from 7 to 8.30 am, sweating it out five days a week. I play golf two days a week. I believe in art and culture and think it's important to keep myself culturally alive. VK Saxena: When the workload gets too much or things get tough, my favourite thing is to listen to old songs. Dr Sanjeev Bagai: The biggest problem in India, especially in Delhi-NCR, is air pollution. Why don't we have a separate ministry dedicated to this? Amitabh Kant: What is needed is a multidisciplinary approach. The Central Air Quality Monitoring Mechanism was set up specifically for this purpose. What we need is tough, ruthless action. A big part of that is making sure that firewood burning during winters is replaced with gas. You need to shut down brick kiln factories outside Delhi. Delhi needs to switch to 100 per cent electric vehicles. All industrial units in and around Delhi should be made to switch over to gas. It is not just the pollution from Haryana and Punjab. There are many hard actions needed around Delhi. VK Saxena: It is basically impossible to get anything done in Delhi because so many agencies, ministries and departments are handling every little thing. Until we fix that, we just can't move forward.
