Following her meeting with Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said on Saturday that the government would “think through” a proposal to give access to the Bangladesh government to restore Sri Aurobindo Bhavan, the birthplace of a leading political and spiritual figure of Bengal, Aurobindo Ghosh, popularly known as Rishi Aurobindo.
Ms. Banerjee extensively discussed the issue of restoration of the building with the Bangladesh Prime Minister. “The place was with them [Hasina’s family] for a long time. Now it is Aurobindo Bhavan, perhaps under the Ashram [trust]. They [Sheikh Hasina] want to restore it. Both the countries will talk about it [and] find out if they [the trust] agree and accept land elsewhere,” she said on Saturday. The Chief Minister’s comment sparked controversy.
The comment did not go down well with social media users.
“I am strongly condemning this unethical proposal,” said Biswadeb Raychaudhuri, an advocate at Calcutta High Court, on social media. Many supported Mr. Raychaudhuri. “It is a national treasure and cannot be handed over to another country,” was another of the remarks.
On August 15, 1872, Aurobindo Ghosh was born in the sprawling Shakespeare Sarani house here, with a park and a driveway at its entrance. Ghosh, who advanced the idea of an armed struggle in Bengal and was arrested for his alleged involvement in one of the meticulously documented armed actions, the Alipore Bomb Case, is considered an enigmatic leader. He was one of the top leaders of Anushilan Samiti, the armed revolutionary group. Later, Ghosh turned to spiritualism after he heard the “voice of Vivekananda” in the Alipore jail. Drawn to spiritualism and Hindusim in the later part of his life, Ghosh thus has a following among both the left and right in Bengal.
In 1973, to mark Ghosh’s birth anniversary, Aurobindo Bhavan, was turned into the Aurobindo study-cum-research centre.
Birth of Bangladesh
The building housed the main office of the first Government of Bangladesh. “On April 17, 1971 the Government took the oath of office there. After this, a few Ministries were set up in the place. Three of the Ministries were at Aurobindo Bhavan, while seven were at 9 Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Sarani [formerly Shakespeare Sarani] where we are housed now,” said an official of the Deputy High Commission of Bangladesh in Kolkata.
Indira Gandhi was instrumental in defending both Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in the Liberation War of 1971 and in setting up Aurobindo Bhavan as the chairperson of the Aurobindo birth centenary committee in 1972. “Little did she know that it would be a news story nearly half a century later,” quipped a former Chief Secretary of Bengal.
The Deputy High Commission, however, has not made any statement regarding the proposal.
“We discussed issues relating to culture and education, and how to improve relations between two countries,” Ms. Banerjee told presspersons after her talks with Ms. Hasina.
The Bangladesh PM emphasised India’s support to the Bangladesh war of independence.
Political observers feel that the Teesta may have figured in the talks between Ms. Hasina and Ms. Banerjee, but they may not want to go public with the issue, which remains sensitive to both sides of the border.
