Assam CM Directs Police Action Over ‘Amar Sonar Bangla’; Gogoi Retorts, ‘BJP Twists History Without Knowing It’

During an event organised by the Seva Dal of the Indian National Congress, Karimganj (Sribhumi) District Committee on October 27, a controversy erupted after Congress leader Bidhu Bhushan Das sang two lines of “Amar Sonar Bangla” — a song written by Rabindranath Tagore in 1905 during the first partition of Bengal. The moment that came during his address on stage has now snowballed into a major political storm.

The song, which was later adopted in 1971 as the national anthem of Bangladesh following the country’s independence, has now become the centre of a heated debate. Reactions have first come from Silchar MLA Dipayan Chakraborty, who said, “The Congress party’s anti-national attitude has once again come to light”—followed by a press conference by Assam Minister Krishnendu Paul and counter reactions from the Karimganj District Congress Committee and Assam Pradesh Congress Committee’s President and MP Gaurav Gogoi. The controversy escalated further when Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma directed the Assam Police to register a sedition case against the Congress members involved in the incident.

During a press conference followed by the Assam Cabinet Meeting on Thursday (October 29), the Chief Minister said, “In Sribhumi district, there was a meeting of the Congress party where the national anthem of Bangladesh received equal respect as India’s national anthem. I could never accept this act in Assam. The Bangladeshi national anthem cannot be sung in Assam. That’s why I have ordered the Assam Police to charge them with sedition. FIR will be registered under appropriate sections of law, and they will be legally arrested as well.”

Responding to this, the President of Assam Pradesh Congress Committee, MP Gaurav Gogoi, criticised the accusations as anti-Bengali, saying, “They have shown their lack of knowledge through their statements. This is nothing new. Previously, the central BJP IT Cell in charge insulted the Bengali language, and Assam saw protests against it. Now, they have shown they have no respect for Bengalis or for Kavi Guru Rabindranath Thakur.” Gogoi added that Amar Sonar Bangla was composed by Tagore during the colonial period to protest against the partition of Bengal by Lord Curzon in 1905, and not as a song for any particular nation.

Historical records show that Amar Sonar Bangla was written in 1905 when Bengal was divided into East and West Bengal by the British government. The song aimed to unite Bengalis beyond religious and regional lines. It was later adopted as the national anthem of Bangladesh after its independence in 1971.

However, during the event in Sribhumi, the video shows that the other dignitaries on stage remained seated while Amar Sonar Bangla was sung—contrary to Chief Minister Sarma’s claim that it received the same respect as the Indian National Anthem. They did not stand, as people typically do when India’s national anthem is played, suggesting that both anthems did not receive equal respect, despite the Chief Minister’s statement.

The incident has sparked widespread debate in Assam, particularly in the Barak Valley region, where Bengali is widely spoken. While many people argue that the song is a historic Rabindra Sangeet written and sung long before Bangladesh came into existence, others believe that singing it at a formal event in India is inappropriate, as it is now the national anthem of another country.