Being in Kolkata at the time of Rabindranath Tagore's 150{+t}{+h} birth centenary celebrations is interesting. Tagore is being revisited and re-imagined through different lens by a cross section of people: intellectuals, artistes, theatre professionals and admirers of the poet-philosopher whose birth anniversary was on May 7.
But one historically significant exhibition has uncovered relatively unknown aspects of Tagore: a Tagore being scrutinised by the British government's watchful Intelligence Branch based on their suspicion that Tagore was close to the “Communists” and that the institution he founded, Santiniketan, could be a “terrorist” organisation and “tainted with Communism”. Fascinating also is to find my home state, Hyderabad's, connection to Tagore's Santiniketan!
The Directorate of State Archives of West Bengal celebrated the Archives Week (April 6-12) with an exhibition; “The Evolution of State Archives (1910-2010) and Rabindranath Tagore in Government Records”. The exhibition was put together from sources such as the confidential files of the Intelligence Branch, which includes informers' reports, intercepted letters of the dwellers of Santiniketan and Sriniketan (the rural development centre near Santiniketan) and rare photographs. The Report on the Native Papers in Bengal, Report on the Political Situation and Labour Unrest in Bengal (IB, CID), District Gazetteers were also consulted.
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June, 1888, by P.C. Roy seeking Professorship at Presidency College (the letter was sent from London); an official letter in the year 1854 stating the need to make Presidency College a University (incidentally the College became a University in 2010); and a rare 1950 photograph (from Intelligence Files) of a young mustachioed Jyoti Bose (Basu), former CM of West Bengal.
Exhibition
The Hyderabad connection to Tagore's Santiniketan was remarkably new for me; the Nizam of Hyderabad was the largest donor of all to Santiniketan, having given Rs. 100,000. The letter from Tagore seeking support and revealing the donations given and more needed, is displayed: IB 285 / 1925.
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The Intelligence files reveal a British administration highly suspicious of Tagore's anti-colonial network and keeping close watch on all the activities at Santiniketan. The “Extract from the report of an IB officer dated Chandernagore, February 11 1931” for instance, reads: “There are two Japanese teachers at present there. One of them is Mr. Takagaki about whom I have already reported. He is the Ju-Jutsu teacher and lives in Santi Niketan with his wife Mrs. Takagaki. The name of the other Japanese teacher is Mr. Konosan. He teaches carpentry but he also himself manufactures and sells furniture. He lives at Surul (Sri Niketan) with family (wife).” This has a handwritten note: “Inform SP he is supposed to report movements of foreigners. Sd. F. James, dated 12.2.31”
Another typed letter (from a local informer) addressed “To the Chief Secretary, Government of India” reads: “Dear Sir, Santiniketan Visvabharati is an organ of terrorist movement of India greatly supporter of Subhash Chandra Bose Party (sic). All inmates of this ashram are pro-Japanese. They create panic all over the world to support terrorist movement of India. ” (I.B 285/1925)
Yet another interesting file is a “Secret Report” (IB 285/1925) “Extract from the inspection remarks made by Deputy Inspector General of
Police, Burdwan Range on the D.I.B office, Suri, in February 1934”: “There is apparently considerable Communist activity existent amongst the teachers at Santiniketan. It is the practice there to admit students to the school and college without any reference being made to their antecedents and any enquiry by Police is much resented. It seems therefore, possible for dangerous organisation to develop in this atmosphere and it should be arranged, if possible, to introduce a lady student and also a boy student to furnish information regarding what is going on. Will SP please see this can be arranged with the help of the I.B?” (Office memo No .1086 / dated 16.3.34)
Prof. Atis Dasgupta, Director, Directorate of State Archives, West Bengal, said, “The goal was to look for records on Tagore in the context of his 150 {+t}{+h} birth anniversary to pay homage to him. It turned out that the IB files were the most exhaustive. The IB files show us that to them (the colonial government) Tagore gave a sort of moral challenge. On the one hand he was a literary personality and at the same time they had to carry surveillance. His being the President of the Civil Liberties Union (IB 382 / 1937; IB 382 / 1937 Part II) is also an important point that has come out.”
Room for doubt
It was difficult for the colonial administration to decipher Tagore, in a sense, or his views. His Santiniketan, which was founded with donations and his own money and its openness to the world (in terms of visitors, teachers, students, and people in general), was seen as some kind of den where conspiracies could be hatched against the colonial regime. It did not help that some of his friends and teachers did indeed have Left leanings.
Aradhana Ghosh, Deputy Director of the Archives, on the work that was put into the Exhibition said, “We searched all the records exhaustively from 1910 onwards and some from 1815.” Our period of exhibits is from 1910 but we needed the background information hence we went back to 1815 records as well. Our colleague Madhurima Sen has been working since last eight to nine months on the Tagore exhibition searching through all records in the Archives as well as in Santiniketan. All officials were engaged in this. Records are scattered across three wings.”
Another person associated with the exhibition was an award winning photographer based in Kolkata, Mr. Swapan Mukherjee who photographed the records that are on display.
The Archives Week also saw the release of an important volume, titled Select Documents on Calcutta: 1800 – 1900, published by the Directorate of State Archives, West Bengal.