Prominent citizens of the city, including Jnanpith Award winner Sankha Ghosh, on Thursday issued an open letter in connection with the vandalism at Visva Bharati University earlier this week.
In the letter signed by the likes of theatre personalities Bibhas Chakraborty, filmmaker Anik Dutta among others, the prominent citizens said Rabindranath Tagore’s Ashram had been “turned into a political battlefield.”
“Emotion of every Bengali and the whole of Bengal is associated with Visva Bharati. We believe only collective good sense and openness can help preserve its sanctity,” the letter said.
The communication added that the writers of the open letter did not want to further complicate the situation by pointing fingers at any political party or administration.
“However, we clearly do not support any side that may be involved in this unfortunate incident. Rather, being non-partisan and sensitive to the matter, we want an end to the prevailing situation,” the letter said.
Violence erupted inside the campus of the university on August 17 over construction of a boundary wall. Locals ransacked the university set up by Tagore in 1921 and the authorities decided to close it for an indefinite period. Eight people were arrested for the violence, which, according to the university, was at the behest of local Trinamool Congress leaders. The university authorities boycotted a meeting called by the DM to resolve the issue.
