Was there no scope for ‘Kabi Pranam’ at 8 AM? Why JPC member Salim had to leave Silchar disappointed

Bengalis all over the world are very sentimental about their folk hero, Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore. One such Bengali, Member of Parliament Mohammad Salim on the occasion of Tagore’s birth anniversary wanted to pay tribute to the poet. He requested the deputy commissioner and other members in charge of the administration to arrange for a visit at any nearby location, where Rabindra Jayanti was being celebrated. The West Bengal MP is a member of JPC, and was in Silchar to hear suggestions and opinions on the citizenship amendment bill 2016, from individuals and organisations. He was staying at the guesthouse in National Institute of Technology (NIT).

How difficult is it to find a place in Silchar where there is a Rabindra Jayanti celebration going on at around 8 AM in the morning? The administration could not arrange a visit, and his wish to pay respect to the poet stayed unfulfiled. “I was really disappointed that I could not pay respect to the poet on his birth anniversary,” Mohammad Salim, said to our reporter with a heavy heart.

He also said that the administration told him that there was no nearby location where he could go and pay respect to Tagore and in the heavy rainfall, if he goes far, there is a possibility that he could miss the 9:00 AM JPC hearing. “After that I asked them to find out if there is a government institution or school or college nearby, that I could go to. The deputy commissioner then went to figure out if there is a nearby place, but he could not,” Salim added. It does not end here, after the JPC hearing, Salim wished to visit Banga Bhavan Silchar, “They told me the road that leads to Banga Bhavan is blocked for some nearby construction, and therefore it won’t be possible for me to go there. They also told me I might miss my flight too as it is far away,” Salim informed.

Yes, it’s true that the road next to Banga Bhavan is blocked. But the distance from the blockade to Banga Bhavan is hardly a minute walk so road block couldn’t be a big reason, but time constraint could have been.

We reached out to the deputy commissioner S Lakshmanan and he said, “Why will district administration not want him to pay tribute to the poet. It so happened after he told me that he wants to pay respect to the poet I spoke to his protocol officer to find out if there is any Rabindra Jayanti celebration happening anywhere at around 8 AM, but we could not find any.”

Lakshmanan added, “He even spoke to local MP Sushmita Dev to figure out if there is a place nearby. After the JPC hearing was done at around 11:30 am, they had their lunch and left for airport to catch the 2:40 flight. Sushmita Dev told him that if he goes to Banga Bhavan, he would miss his flight. There was no security issue, if there was one I could have told him myself that there is an issue and you cannot go.”

Now from 7 AM in the morning, several organisations all across Silchar started paying homage to Rabindranath Tagore. The statue standing tall at India Club saw the biggest crowd that came in to mark their respect to the poet. Also, on the way to airport, with so many institutions and organisations marking the day, the Politbuero member could have fulfiled his wish… but none of that happened.

Who is to be blamed for this? Is Rabindra Jayanti celebration really tough to find in Barak these days, or is that the administration just did not want to take the extra risk? Whoever or whatever, the fact is that Barak Valley could not fulfil the wish of a Bengali to pay tribute to Rabindranath Tagore, and that indeed is really dissappointing