Santiniketan Trust founded by Tagore's father moves police on plaque Issue

The Santiniketan Trust, established by Rabindranath Tagore's father, has filed a police complaint against Visva-Bharati, West Bengal's only central university, over the installation of plaques marking the inclusion of Santiniketan town in the UNESCO World Heritage list.

The Trust alleges that Visva-Bharati's vice-chancellor, Bidyut Chakrabarty, did not seek permission before installing these plaques on land owned by the Trust. This move has triggered a controversy because the plaques bear the names of Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the university's acharya (chancellor) and Vice-Chancellor Chakrabarty but do not mention Rabindranath Tagore, who founded the university in 1921.One of the plaques was placed in front of a prayer hall situated on land owned by Santiniketan Trust, and despite several reminders, it has not been removed, causing unrest. The Trust has expressed concern that the plaque is hurting the sentiments of followers of the Brahmo religion, and they fear that Chakrabarty's actions could incite tensions.

Rabindranath Tagore's father, Maharshi Debendranath Tagore, played a significant role in the area's history by moving there in 1863 and forming the Santiniketan Trust in 1888. Visva-Bharati was declared a central university in 1951, maintaining the legacy of the Tagore family.