Sir — As the Union home minister, Amit Shah, visited Visva-Bharati in Santiniketan under the guise of paying tribute to Rabindranath Tagore, his political agenda became clear. A security blanket costing a huge amount of public money was put in place. The whole affair made the august place of learning look like a fortress under siege. Four student activists belonging to the Students’ Federation of India and the All India Democratic Students’ Organisation were reportedly put under house arrest. This is unprecedented. Many eminent personalities have earlier visited the hallowed institution founded by Tagore. This includes former prime ministers of India. In fact, Jawaharlal Nehru was known to freely interact with the students of the institution during his visits. I can distinctly recall that once when Rajiv Gandhi, as prime minister, paid a visit to Santiniketan in the midst of a students’ agitation spearheaded by the SFI, he met and amicably discussed the issues raised by agitating students.

On the present occasion, Shah could have easily invited the aggrieved students protesting against his visit and engaged them in talks over a cup of tea. Such fatherly affection could have been enough to win the hearts of students. But instead he exhibited arrogance, and a bitter anti-democratic mindset by exercising muscle power. In fact, his party is a constant defaulter when it comes to democratic gestures and practices. Another incongruous aspect that came to the fore is that Shah allowed his partymen to accompany him, thus injecting into the visit an element of party politics. It is hard to believe that Dilip Ghosh and Mukul Roy — who went with him — have much regard for the sublime ideas proposed by Tagore. The vice-chancellor, Bidyut Chakrabarty, should not have allowed this.

S. Sarkar,
Berhampore, Murshidabad

Sir — Bolpur and Santiniketan were ready to welcome the Union home minister, Amit Shah, who was to pay a visit there. For this, political banners were hung up across Santiniketan. But protests broke out right ahead of the home minister’s scheduled visit because a sketch of Rabindranath Tagore was placed beneath the picture of Shah on a display board. It made it seem as though Shah was elevated above Tagore (“Look who’s elevated ‘above’ Tagore”, Dec 19). The home minister was perhaps not aware of this gaffe, but Anupam Hazra, the local leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party — his image was also there on the flex — should not have made this mistake. The boards, however, were removed soon after the protests began.

The visit was reportedly planned to highlight the BJP’s cultural connect with Bengal before the assembly elections of 2021. But was it necessary to put up a sketch of Tagore on a display board that sought to promote the BJP’s political campaign? After all, Tagore was not exactly known for partisan politics. Even if his image were to be used, it should never have been placed below that of Shah. This is a gross insult not only to the ‘Bishwa kobi’ but also to Bengalis at large. His dignity cannot be compromised. Hazra cannot deny his responsibility in this case.

Rabindranath Sarkar,
Calcutta

Sir — The spate of gaffes by the BJP — the political party first got Rabindranath Tagore’s birthplace wrong and now its members in Bengal decided to place the image of Amit Shah above that of the revered poet on a flex — reveals how little it knows Bengal. If this is the level of the BJP’s understanding of arguably the greatest of Bengal’s poets, it is clear how poorly the party would understand Bengal and its culture. Besides, everyone knows about the old trick of having food at people’s houses with cameras watching.

A lot of things may be wrong with governance in Bengal. But it is more frightening to think that there is a chance people could usher in a party that hardly has any connection with the place.

Shrestha Chakladar,
North 24 Parganas

Let the games begin

Sir — It was delightful to know that the sports ministry has approved the inclusion of four indigenous Indian sports — Gatka, Kalaripayattu, Thang-Ta and Mallakhamba — in the Khelo India Youth Games 2021. The sports minister, Kiren Rijiju, has rightly underlined India’s rich heritage of indigenous sports. The platform will ensure that athletes are able to showcase their talent while drawing attention to these sports of yore that have almost been forgotten. More such games might be included in the future. These sports, each with a unique local flavour, could inspire the younger generations.

M. Pradyu,
Kannur