‘India should be free from ‘language terrorism’

Kolkata: Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress (TMC) chairperson Mamata Banerjee on Friday once again slammed the BJP-led Centre without taking its name and said that the country should be free from “language terrorism”.

On the 84th death anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore, Banerjee made a social media post where she invoked Tagore’s legacy to protest against “language terrorism” against Bengalis.

Referring to the Nobel laureate, Banerjee wished that the country flourished without the terror of language. Through her post on X, she expressed hope that people would wake up in an India where “Tagore’s language, Bengali, receives respect, dignity, and the love of all citizens”.

“May that nation awaken where Rabindranath’s language, Bengali, receives respect, dignity, and the love of all citizens. May that nation flourish where there is no terror of language,” the Chief Minister said. Banerjee’s party has been carrying out relentless protests over the alleged harassment of Bengali-speaking migrants in BJP-ruled states.

“I offer my reverence at the feet of the world poet Rabindranath Tagore. He resides in our hearts in every living moment. He is the poet of our soul, and I invoke him today from the depths of my heart. He is our guardian and our guiding light,” Banerjee posted on X. “Every day is a day of remembrance in his memory. We remember the poet and celebrate him throughout the year and day and night,” she added further.

Trinamool Congress chief also mentioned that the state government had on Thursday organised a programme in Jhargram district, remembering Tagore. “Yesterday, we had a government programme in Jhargram. There, we had the opportunity to pay tribute to many scholars. We bowed to the world poet on that occasion. Before that programme, we also paid tribute to him publicly on social media,” she stated.

The Chief Minister, while addressing a gathering in Jhargram on Thursday, continued her tirade over the alleged torture of Bengali-speaking people in BJP-ruled states. She had said: “If there’s no such thing as the Bengali language, in what language was the national anthem written? What language did Rabindranath Tagore, Swami Vivekananda, Raja Rammohan Roy, and Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar speak? What about Netaji? Every person has a language, and language is a source of pride and identity,” she declared.