logo
Rabindranath Tagore's ancestral home vandalised in Bangladesh days after parking dispute

Rabindranath Tagore's ancestral home vandalised in Bangladesh days after parking dispute

Scroll.in12-06-2025
The ancestral home of Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore was vandalised on Tuesday in Bangladesh's Sirajganj district, two days after a parking dispute in the premises, state-owned news agency Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha reported.
The vandalisation at the Rabindra Kacharibari, or the Rabindra Memorial Museum, led to sharp condemnation in India from the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Trinamool Congress.
On June 8, an altercation broke out at the memorial between a visitor and a staffer about a parking fee. The situation escalated when staff members allegedly confined the visitor in an office room, sparking public outrage, the Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha reported.
On June 10, a group of residents organised a human chain and protest rally near the Kacharibari. During their protest, a group of demonstrators entered the museum premises and vandalised its auditorium, the news agency reported.
Bangladesh' Department of Archaeology formed a three-member committee to investigate the incident and assess damages. It is expected to submit its report within five days. The site has since been closed to visitors.
The police have filed a case against 50 to 60 persons in connection with the incident, The Daily Star reported. However, no arrests have been made yet.
The two-storey Kachharibari was bought by Dwarkanath Tagore, Rabindranath Tagore's grandfather in 1840, according to The Daily Star. The poet spent a significant amount of time there, creating many of his notable literary works including Bishorjon, Sonar Tori, Chitra and Meyeli Chhara.
Indian politicians condemn vandalism
Leaders from both the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Trinamool Congress condemned the vandalism and demanded that Bangladeshi authorities act against the culprits.
'Rabindranath Tagore is no ordinary personality,' BJP MP Sambit Patra said. 'When his house has been attacked, his way of thinking has been attacked, we appeal to the world community to come together against this.'
#WATCH | Delhi: On the attack on Rabindranath Tagore's house in Bangladesh, BJP MP Sambit Patra says, "Rabindranath Tagore is no ordinary personality. When his house has been attacked, his way of thinking has been attacked, we appeal to the world community to come together… pic.twitter.com/VyPAB8RPKk
— ANI (@ANI) June 12, 2025
The Trinamool Congress called on the Union government to take notice of the incident and 'initiate bilateral dialogue to ensure that the concerned authorities in Bangladesh act swiftly and bring the culprits to justice'.
'Our icons are not collateral damage for mob fury,' the party added.
We strongly condemn the vandalism of Kobiguru Rabindranath Tagore's ancestral home in Bangladesh's Sirajganj district.
Gurudev is a symbol of Bengal's cultural heritage and a global icon of literature and humanism. Such acts of disrespect are an affront to every Bengali's… pic.twitter.com/yZ2iqlcmHT
— All India Trinamool Congress (@AITCofficial) June 12, 2025
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

TMC MLA Humayun Kabir threatens to float new party, vows to contest 50+ seats in 2026 polls
TMC MLA Humayun Kabir threatens to float new party, vows to contest 50+ seats in 2026 polls

Time of India

timean hour ago

  • Time of India

TMC MLA Humayun Kabir threatens to float new party, vows to contest 50+ seats in 2026 polls

In an act of defiance ahead of the 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections , Trinamool Congress MLA Humayun Kabir threatened to form a new political outfit , if the TMC fails to "rectify" its district-level leadership in Murshidabad by August 15, a move that could shake the party's minority vote base in the region. The TMC, unfazed by the ultimatum, said Kabir has been show-caused multiple times for breaching party discipline, and he can leave anytime. Explore courses from Top Institutes in Please select course: Select a Course Category Operations Management Project Management Others Finance Healthcare healthcare Degree CXO Leadership PGDM Technology Digital Marketing Data Science Artificial Intelligence MBA Design Thinking MCA Public Policy Data Analytics Data Science others Product Management Cybersecurity Management Skills you'll gain: Quality Management & Lean Six Sigma Analytical Tools Supply Chain Management & Strategies Service Operations Management Duration: 10 Months IIM Lucknow IIML Executive Programme in Strategic Operations Management & Supply Chain Analytics Starts on Jan 27, 2024 Get Details "I will wait till August 15. If there is no change or course correction in the district leadership, I have no option but to listen to the people, both Muslims and some Hindus, who are urging me to chart an alternative path," Kabir, TMC MLA from Bharatpur in Murshidabad district told reporters. He also indicated that the formation of a Muslim-majority regional party could alter equations in Murshidabad, Malda, North Dinajpur, and parts of Nadia and South Dinajpur districts. "There will not be just one Humayun Kabir, there will be many," he said, suggesting his new platform may attract disgruntled TMC elements and community leaders. Live Events Kabir, a former Congress and BJP member who has frequently courted controversy within the TMC, said his new party would officially launch on January 1, 2026, and contest 50 to 52 seats across Bengal, primarily targeting the minority-dominated belts. Issuing a sharp rebuttal, TMC state vice-president Joyprakash Majumdar dismissed the "August 15 deadline" as a stunt. "If he wants to float a new party, no one is stopping him. But first, he must resign. The party doesn't care for self-imposed deadlines. He can leave tomorrow if he wants," Majumdar said, adding that Kabir had already been show-caused multiple times and warned for breaching party discipline. "A party has rules. If you want to stay, follow them. Otherwise, the road is open," Majumdar said pointedly. Kabir, however, appeared unshaken. "If I am forced to do this, I will not only win my seat, but several of my colleagues will also win. And when we do, we will negotiate with Mamata Banerjee from a position of strength," he said, hinting at post-poll bargaining in case of a fractured mandate in 2026. Kabir's rebellion has drawn sharp reactions from the opposition. "He has no credibility. He has made tall claims before and done nothing. His effigies are being burnt in his own constituency. TMC workers are throwing shoes at his posters. Let him act first, then we'll talk," BJP leader Rahul Sinha said. Sujan Chakraborty, CPI(M) central committee member, also ridiculed Kabir's political flip-flops. "He has been in Congress, then BJP, then TMC, back to Congress, and again TMC. Now he's talking about a new party? This is not politics, it's opportunistic deal-making," Chakraborty said. "He says he is with Mamata Banerjee and also Abhishek Banerjee . So, if he is with both, then who is he rebelling against? This is just bargaining before ticket distribution," Chakraborty quipped. Kabir's latest salvo comes at a time when Mamata Banerjee is working to consolidate her minority vote base amid growing discontent and visible cracks in the TMC's organisational structure in north Bengal. Murshidabad, Malda and parts of Dinajpur account for a large chunk of Muslim voters, often seen as the TMC's reliable electoral base. A breakaway faction led by a prominent Muslim leader could create vote splits in multi-cornered contests, especially if the BJP and the Left-Congress alliance manage to retain their footholds. Kabir, however, clarified he has "no personal animosity" toward Mamata Banerjee or Abhishek Banerjee. "My fight is with the district-level leaders who are corrupt and autocratic," he said, echoing the complaints of several disgruntled leaders within the party's lower rungs. Political observers say Kabir's gambit is a high-risk, high-return strategy. His ability to wean away TMC votes depends largely on his organisational muscle in Murshidabad and whether his proposed platform can gain traction beyond local discontent. However, his checkered past, shifting loyalties between Congress, BJP, and TMC, may work against him, as critics label him untrustworthy and politically restless.

Trump's attack on science is growing fiercer and more indiscriminate
Trump's attack on science is growing fiercer and more indiscriminate

Mint

time2 hours ago

  • Mint

Trump's attack on science is growing fiercer and more indiscriminate

SCIENTISTS IN AMERICA are used to being the best. The country is home to the world's foremost universities, hosts the lion's share of scientific Nobel laureates and has long been among the top producers of influential research papers. Generous funding helps keep the system running. Counting both taxpayer and industrial dollars, America spends more on research than any other country. The federal government doles out around $120bn a year, $50bn or so of which goes towards tens of thousands of grants and contracts for higher-education institutions, with the rest going to public research bodies. Now, however, many of America's top scientific minds are troubled. In the space of a few months the Trump administration has upended well-established ways of funding and conducting research. Actions with the stated goal of cutting costs and stamping out diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives are taking a toll on scientific endeavour. And such actions are broadening. On May 15th it emerged that the administration had cancelled grants made to Harvard University for research on everything from Arctic geochemistry to quantum physics, following a similar move against Columbia. The consequences of these cuts for America's scientific prowess could be profound. Under the current system, which was established soon after the second world war, researchers apply to receive federal funding from grant-making agencies, namely the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Science Foundation (NSF) as well as the Departments of Defence (DoD) and Energy (DoE). Once a proposal has been assessed by a panel of peers and approved by the agency, the agreed money is paid out for a set period. This setup is facing tremendous upheaval. Since Mr Trump's return to the White House, somewhere in the region of $8bn has been cancelled or withdrawn from scientists or their institutions, equivalent to nearly 16% of the yearly federal grant budget for higher education. A further $12.2bn was rescinded but has since been reinstated by courts. The NIH and the NSF have cancelled more than 3,000 already-approved grants, according to Grant Watch, a tracking website run by academics (see chart 1); an unknown number have been scrapped by the DoE, the DoD and others. Most cancellations have hit research that Mr Trump and his team do not like, including work that appears associated with DEI and research on climate change, misinformation, covid-19 and vaccines. Other terminations have targeted work conducted at elite universities. Much more is under threat. The president hopes to slash the NIH budget by 38%, or almost $18bn; cut the NSF budget by $4.7bn, more than 50%; and scrap nearly half of NASA's Science Mission Directorate. All told, the proposed cuts to federal research agencies come to nearly $40bn. Many have already gone under the knife. In March the Department for Health and Human Services (HHS), which includes the NIH, announced it would scrap 20,000 jobs, or 25% of its workforce. According to news reports, about 1,300 jobs, or more than 10%, have been lost at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which carries out environmental and climate research. Staff cuts were reportedly also due to start at the NSF, but have been temporarily blocked by courts. To save more money, the NIH, the NSF, the DoE and the DoD have launched restrictive caps on so-called indirect grant costs, which help fund facilities and administration at universities. (These limits have also been partly blocked by courts.) The administration says it has a plan. Mr Trump entered office on a mission to cut government waste, a problem from which the scientific establishment is not immune. On May 19th Michael Kratsios, his scientific adviser, stood up in front of the National Academies of Sciences and defended the administration's vision. It wants to improve science by making it better and more efficient, he said—to 'get more bang for America's research bucks". To do so, funding must better match the nation's priorities, and researchers should be freed from groupthink, empowered to challenge each other more freely without fear of convention and dogma. Shaking things up He is right that science has a number of stubborn problems that can hardly be solved by a business-as-usual approach. Scientific papers are less disruptive and innovative than they used to be, and more money has not always translated into speedier progress. In the pharmaceutical sciences, new drug approvals have plateaued in recent years despite ever larger budgets. Researchers also spend much too long writing grant proposals and completing similar administrative tasks, which keeps them away from their laboratories. Some of Mr Trump's proposals are, in fact, overdue. Many NASA watchers, for example, would agree with his plan to find commercial alternatives for the Space Launch System, a giant rocket being built to take people to the Moon and beyond but which is years behind schedule and billions of dollars over budget. It would be hard, if not impossible, to improve the science funding system without some disruption. The problem, however, is that the administration's cuts are broader and deeper than they first appear, and its methods more chaotic. Take the focus on DEI, which the administration bemoans as a dangerous left-wing ideology. The agencies are targeting it because of an executive order banning them from supporting such work. But DEI is notoriously ill-defined. Programmes that are being cancelled are not just inclusive education schemes, but also projects that focus on the health of at-risk groups. Though it is mostly unclear why specific projects have been cancelled, Grant Watch keeps track of words that could have landed researchers in trouble. 'Latinx", for example, is a term for Hispanic people flagged as a telltale sign of DEI by Ted Cruz, a Republican senator. The NIH has cancelled a project on anal-cancer risk factors, the abstract of which uses the word Latinx. Another cancelled project concerns oral and throat cancer, for which gay men are at higher risk. Its abstract uses the phrase 'sexual and gender minority". There are many such examples. Other cuts may do more damage. Some NIH-funded research on vaccines has been cancelled, as have $11bn-worth of special funds from the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for pandemic-related research. In March Ralph Baric, an epidemiologist at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill who helped test the Moderna mRNA vaccine for covid-19, had several vaccine grants terminated. One project aimed to develop broad-spectrum vaccines for the same family of viruses that SARS-CoV-2 comes from; scientists fear other strains might cross from animals to humans. Both the CDC and NIH justified such cuts by saying that the covid-19 pandemic is over. But this is short-sighted, argues Dr Baric, given the number of worrying viruses. 'We're in for multiple pandemics" in the future, he says. 'I guess we'll have to buy the drugs from the Chinese." Even for scientists who have not been affected by cuts, other changes have made conducting research more challenging. For example, the NIH and NSF have both delayed funding new grants. Jeremy Berg, a biophysicist at the University of Pittsburgh who is tracking the delay in grant approvals, wrote in his May report that the NIH has released about $2.9bn less funding since the start of the year, relative to 2023 and 2024. According to media reports, the NSF has stopped approving grants entirely until further notice. At the NIH itself, the largest biomedical research centre in the country, lab supplies have become more difficult to procure. Department credit cards have been cut back and the administrative staff who would normally place orders and pay invoices have been fired. Scientists report shortages of reagents, lab animals and basic equipment like gloves. All these factors are destabilising for researchers—labs need a steady, predictable flow of cash and other resources to continue functioning. If next year's cuts to federal agencies are approved, more pain could be coming (see chart 2). The NSF's budget cuts, for instance, will hit climate and clean energy research. And, according to leaked documents, the research arm of NOAA would most probably cease to exist entirely. That would almost certainly mean defunding the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory at Princeton University, 'one of the best labs in the world for modelling the atmosphere", says Adam Sobel, a professor at Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory. NASA's Earth-observation satellites would likewise take a beating, potentially damaging the agency's ability to keep track of wildfires, sea-level rises, surface-temperature trends and the health of Earth's poles. Those effects would be felt by ordinary people both in America and abroad. And as Mr Trump increasingly wields grant terminations as bludgeons against institutions he dislikes, even projects that his own administration might otherwise have found worthy of support are being cancelled. Take his feud with Columbia. His administration has accused the institution of inaction against antisemitism on campus after Hamas's attack on October 7th 2023 and Israel's subsequent war in Gaza. On March 10th the NIH announced on X that it had terminated more than 400 grants to Columbia on orders from the administration, as a bargaining chip to get the university to take action. Some $400m of funding has been withheld, despite Columbia having laid out what it is doing to deal with the administration's concerns. Those grants include fundamental research on Alzheimer's disease, schizophrenia and HIV—topics that a spokesperson confirmed to The Economist represent priority areas for the NIH. Columbia is not alone. The administration is withholding $2.7bn from Harvard University, which has responded with a lawsuit. Within hours of Harvard refusing the administration's demands, scientists at some of the university's world-leading labs received stop-work orders. The administration has since said that Harvard will be awarded no more federal grants. Letters from the NIH, the NSF, the DoD and the DoE sent to Harvard around May 12th seem to cancel existing grants as well. While it is too soon to say exactly how many grants are involved, 188 newly terminated NSF grants from Harvard appeared in the Grant Watch database on May 15th, touching all scientific disciplines. A leaked internal communication from Harvard Medical School, the highest-ranked in the country, says that nearly all its federal grants have been cancelled. Cornell University says it too has received 75 stop-work orders for DoD-sponsored research on new materials, superconductors, robotics and satellites. The administration has also frozen over $1.7bn destined for Brown, Northwestern and Princeton universities and the University of Pennsylvania. As these efforts intensify, scientists are hoping that Congress and the courts will step in to limit the damage. Swingeing as the budget plan is, the administration's proposals are routinely modified by Congress. During Mr Trump's first term, similar proposals to squeeze scientific agencies were dismissed by Congress and he might meet opposition again. Susan Collins, the Republican chairwoman of the Senate appropriations committee, which is responsible for modifying the president's budget, has expressed concern that Mr Trump's cuts will hurt America's competitiveness in biotech and yield ground to China. Katie Britt, a Trump loyalist and senator for Alabama, has spoken to Robert F. Kennedy junior, the health secretary, about the the need for research to continue. (The University of Alabama at Birmingham is among the top recipients of NIH money.) When on May 14th Mr Kennedy appeared before lawmakers to defend the restructuring of the HHS, Bill Cassidy, the Republican chairman of the Senate health committee, asked him to reassure Americans that the reforms 'will make their lives easier, not harder". Courts will have their say as well. On May 5th 13 universities sued the administration over the NSF's new indirect-cost cap, and the American Association of University Professors has likewise sued Mr Trump over his treatment of Harvard and Columbia. Harvard's suit is ongoing. Dr Baric is one researcher who has had his grant terminations reversed in this manner. His state of North Carolina, alongside 22 other states and the District of Columbia, sued the HHS over the revoked CDC funding for vaccine research. On May 16th the court ruled that the federal government had overstepped and not followed due process, and ordered the HHS to reinstate the funding. Reversing more cuts will take time, however. And the uncertainty and chaos in the short term could have lasting effects. A country where approved grants can be terminated before work is finished and appealing against decisions is difficult becomes a less attractive place to do science. Some researchers may consider moving abroad. American science has long seen itself as the world's best; today it faces its gravest moment ever. Curious about the world? To enjoy our mind-expanding science coverage, sign up to Simply Science, our weekly subscriber-only newsletter.

‘Loktantar' or ‘Loktantra'? Did INDIA bloc fumble on Hindi word for Democracy? Here is what we know
‘Loktantar' or ‘Loktantra'? Did INDIA bloc fumble on Hindi word for Democracy? Here is what we know

Mint

time4 hours ago

  • Mint

‘Loktantar' or ‘Loktantra'? Did INDIA bloc fumble on Hindi word for Democracy? Here is what we know

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday attacked the Congress party-led INDIA bloc opposition for misspelling the Hindi word 'loktantra' for democracy in their protest posters. The Opposition members were seen holding up posters criticising the state of democracy during the ongoing Monsoon Session of Parliament. But the word 'loktantra' (democracy) was mistakenly written as 'loktantar,' drawing quick ridicule from BJP leaders. BJP IT Cell chief Amit Malviya pointed out the error, saying, " It's Loktantra, not Loktantar." The BJP also shared the poster with a spelling error on its X handle. The jibe came as opposition MPs, including Congress leader Sonia Gandhi, staged a demonstration at Parliament's Makar Dwar over the issue of the Special Intensive Revision of Electoral rolls in poll-bound Bihar. "Can't blame Congress. They can neither spell nor save Loktantra. they believe in Parivar Tantra and Emergency. Surely they can spell and save that," BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla said. The apparent spelling error unleashed a debate on social media over the correct spelling of the word Loktantra The apparent spelling error unleashed a debate on social media over the correct spelling of the word Loktantra A user said there was nothing wrong with the spelling and it was like people spell 'Satyendar' differently, sometimes as Satyendra too. 'It is Adope unsupported font issue. College mein bahut hota that,' said a social media user. Can't blame Congress. They can neither spell nor save Loktantra. A Hindi language expert said the word was grammatically correct as it would also be pronounced as 'Loktantra'. 'Bas humare yahan Loktantra ko raise likhne ki parampara nahi hai. (It may be traditionally incorrect. But the pronunciation remains the same),' the expert said.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store