Kolkata: Amid the ongoing political sparring between the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the BJP over “insulting” remarks directed at social reformer Raja Ram Mohan Roy, the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) has decided to bring out a special edition of its magazine Puroshree, dedicated to the stalwarts of the Bengal Renaissance.
The flashpoint came after Madhya Pradesh’s Higher Education minister and BJP leader Inder Singh Parmar publicly apologised and withdrew his statement calling Raja Ram Mohan Roy a “British agent”. His remark triggered widespread outrage in Bengal, with the TMC accusing the BJP of being “anti-Bengali” and showing disrespect to the state’s icons.
Roy (1772–1833), a visionary reformer, polyglot and thinker, remains one of the most celebrated figures in Bengal’s intellectual history. Credited as a foundational force behind the Bengal Renaissance, he challenged regressive social practices, championed women’s rights, opposed orthodox customs and played a crucial role in the abolition of Sati. His progressive ideas helped lay the humanist and universalist framework that shaped modern India.
Tensions spilled into the KMC monthly meeting on Wednesday when a ruckus broke out between TMC and BJP councillors. The uproar stemmed from a proposal by Trinamool councillor Arup Chakraborty, who argued that in the wake of what he described as misinformation being spread by the saffron camp, the civic body should publish a special Puroshree issue highlighting the contributions of luminaries who not only strengthened India’s freedom movement but also ushered in the Renaissance in Bengal.
Responding to the proposal, BJP councillor Sajal Ghosh attempted to corner the ruling party by recalling that no arrests had been made so far in the case relating to the vandalisation of social reformer Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar’s bust in Kolkata during a political clash in 2019.
Mayor Firhad Hakim backed the proposal and criticised the BJP, labelling it “anti-Bengali” and “anti-Bengal”.
He said the corporation would go ahead with the special edition of Puroshree to honour Bengal’s intellectual heritage. Hakim also announced that the KMC is resuming the publication of the historic Calcutta Municipal Gazette, which had been discontinued for several years.