Visva-Bharati on Monday indicated a departure from its earlier stand of replacing the "temporary" plaques without Rabindranath Tagore's name put up to commemorate Unesco conferring heritage tag on Santiniketan with new ones by issuing a statement that seemed to justify the omission.

A two-page statement signed by varsity's acting public relations officer Mahua Banerjee referred to several boards and plaques installed by Visva-Bharati to mark the inauguration of new buildings or renovated structures that do not carry Tagore's name.

Visva-Bharati sources said this logic was used to justify the two controversial plaques that had the names of Chancellor Narendra Modi and vice-chancellor Bidyut Chakrabarty but not of Tagore, who founded both Santiniketan and the varsity.

"There are many plaques where only the names of several of the former vice-chancellors were inscribed. We installed those 'heritage plaques' with the same tradition... The Rabindriks (Tagore aficionados) can shout loud (against those plaques), the fact is that Visva-Bharati's current chancellor is Narendra Modi, who is also the Prime Minister of the country and the vice-chancellor is Bidyut Chakrabarty and no one can change these (names)," the statement reads.

"The Unesco declared (Santiniketan) as its World Heritage Site in the month of September 2023. (In the future) can anyone deny the names of the then vice-chancellor and the chancellor?... No one can deny the role of Rabindranath Tagore and his father Maharshi Debendranath Tagore even if their names are not inscribed on the plaques. This is clear that those who are trying to breach the peace (of Santiniketan) by introducing the controversy over the plaques are actually expressing their ignorance and doing politics over it for their personal benefit," the statement added.

The acting PRO, who had earlier said the plaques were temporary and would be replaced with content provided by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), on Monday said: "I can't say whether the plaques will be replaced or not. We have explained our views in the statement (issued on Monday) and that is all."

A senior varsity official said that through the statement Chakrabarty made it clear that he would not replace the plaques despite widespread criticism.

"The content of the statement is founded on poor logic as the controversial plaques cannot be equated with tablets or boards put up to inaugurate buildings or structures," the official said. "The VC gave seven examples to justify his wrongdoings but even a child can understand that his logic was flawed. The statement clearly shows that the VC will stick to his wrongdoings."

The statement cites the instance of Bangladesh Bhavana where the names of Modi and his Bangladeshi counterpart Sheikh Hasina were inscribed on a metal plaque. Bangladesh Bhavana is a new building funded by the government of the neighbouring country and inaugurated in 2018.

A board with the name of the then Vice-President Venkaiah Naidu was put up in front of Tagore's renovated mud house Shyamali was inaugurated in 2019.

"It is a somewhat childish defensive approach that is open to further avoidable debate. If only he had taken a more genial attitude things would not be so acerbic in Visva Bharati. Let’s hope this unpleasant phase ends and we will all ensure that the plaques are taken down," said Jawhar Sircar, the Trinamul Rajya Sabha member. Sircar was actively associated with the process of applying to Unesco seeking a heritage site tag for Santiniketan.

"Unesco has given recognition to a space and its ideas created by Rabindranath Tagore. What has it got to do with who adorns which post today?" said Sudripta Tagore, a member of the Tagore family who lives in Santiniketan.

“If this is the opinion of Visva-Bharati, what happens to the ‘temporary’ version voiced earlier? We are all eagerly waiting for the second week of November. Hope we are not disappointed,” Sudripta added, referring to Chakrabarty’s five-year term that is to end on November 8. A source said there was no communication from the Centre till Monday evening on Chakrabarty’s extension.

Sudipta Bhattacharyya, president of the Visva-Bharati University Faculty Association, said the VC should keep in mind that Unesco inscribed the name of Santiniketan, not Visva-Bharati, and the current administration did not mention the memory of Tagore on its plaques and are now trying to justify what they did.

Tagore Trust

Visva-Bharati on Monday claimed the complaint lodged against VC Bidyut Chakrabarty by the Santiniketan Trust over one of the offending plaques on land owned by the Trust was baseless. Anil Konar, honorary secretary of the Trust, dismissed it.