A fresh political controversy has erupted in Assam after a Congress event in the state’s Karimganj district featured the song “Amar Sonar Bangla,” which is officially the national anthem of Bangladesh. The incident has triggered sharp exchanges between the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress, with the former accusing the latter of “appeasement politics” and “disrespecting India,” while the Congress defended its actions as a celebration of Bengali culture and heritage.
The event in question took place in Sribhumi district of Karimganj, a region bordering Bangladesh and home to a large Bengali-speaking population. A video from the Congress meeting, showing a local leader and an elderly poet singing “Amar Sonar Bangla,” quickly went viral on social media, drawing strong condemnation from the BJP and prompting the Assam Chief Minister to order legal action.
The controversy has since evolved into a broader debate over national identity, cultural expression, and political intent in India’s sensitive border state.
The Incident That Sparked the Row
The song “Amar Sonar Bangla” was reportedly performed by an 85-year-old poet, Vidhu Bhushan Das, during a Congress gathering in Karimganj district. The Congress unit in Sribhumi had organized the event as part of its outreach program in the Bengali-majority region.
According to reports, only two lines of the song were sung, but because “Amar Sonar Bangla” is the national anthem of Bangladesh, its performance in an Indian political meeting sparked immediate outrage.
An undated video clip from the event surfaced online, showing party members standing as the song was sung. As the video gained traction, the BJP accused the Congress of “crossing the line of nationalism” and “aligning with anti-India sentiments.”
The BJP framed the incident as evidence of the Congress’s alleged “vote-bank politics,” claiming the party was pandering to Bangladesh-origin voters in Assam’s border regions to secure electoral support.
BJP’s Reaction: ‘A Premeditated Effort to Lure the Vote Bank’
The BJP reacted swiftly and sharply to the viral video. Party spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla launched a scathing attack on the Congress, accusing it of engaging in what he called “competitive appeasement politics.”
Poonawalla said, “The Congress is showing support to Bangladesh at a time when that country talks about dividing India. This has become a premeditated enterprise of the Congress and the Opposition.”
He linked the Assam incident to what he described as a larger pattern of behavior among Congress leaders, mentioning controversial remarks in the past by leaders like Sam Pitroda and Priyank Kharge. Poonawalla alleged that the Congress was “officially supporting Bangladeshi infiltrators” and trying to “appease illegal immigrants” for political gain.
He added, “On one side, the Congress disrespects Assam and supports Bangladeshi infiltrators. On the other side, when our government detects, deletes, and deports illegal immigrants, the Congress divides, distorts, and defends them.”
The BJP spokesperson also accused the Opposition alliance of double standards, saying the Trinamool Congress (TMC), another key Opposition party, was pushing for “Jungle Raj and Sharia law” despite claiming to defend the Constitution.
Assam Chief Minister’s Response: ‘Blatant Disrespect to the People of India’
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma took a stern stance, terming the incident a “blatant disrespect” to the Indian people and ordering immediate legal action.
Addressing a press conference, Sarma said, “Two days ago, the district Congress committee of Sribhumi performed the national anthem of Bangladesh in place of the national anthem of India. This is a blatant disrespect of the people of India. It is in line with the new claim by some Bangladesh citizens that the north-east will eventually be part of Bangladesh.”
The Chief Minister announced that he had directed the Assam Police to register a case against the district Congress committee and take legal action as per Indian law.
Sarma, who has often taken a strong position on illegal immigration and national security, suggested that the Congress’s act was not accidental but deliberate. His comments tied the event to broader regional sensitivities about cross-border infiltration, demographic changes, and cultural identity in Assam—a state that has long grappled with issues related to migration from Bangladesh.
Congress’s Defence: ‘An Expression of Bengali Culture’
The Congress, however, strongly denied any wrongdoing, arguing that “Amar Sonar Bangla” should not be seen merely as a national anthem but as a timeless cultural and literary work by Rabindranath Tagore.
Senior Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi came to the defence of the state unit, saying that the BJP was deliberately twisting the issue for political gain.
“The BJP has always insulted the Bengali language, Bengali culture, and the people of Bengal. Their IT Cell has insulted Bengalis before and shown ignorance about the history of Rabindranath Tagore. ‘Amar Sonar Bangla’ was composed by Tagore to reflect the sentiments of Bengal and protest against the partition of Bengal in 1905,” Gogoi said.
He added, “The BJP has no understanding of cultural history. I think the people of Bengal and Bengali-speaking people across India have recognised that the BJP only uses them for votes and insults their heritage.”
Local Congress Leaders Stand Firm: ‘Don’t Play Politics with Tagore’
At the district level, Congress leaders echoed Gogoi’s defense and maintained that there was no political motive behind the song’s inclusion in the event.
Tapas Purkayastha, the president of the Sribhumi District Congress Committee, told reporters, “Don’t play politics with Rabindranath Tagore. Our pride, 85-year-old poet Vidhu Bhushan Das, sang only two lines of the song. Criticising this song means insulting Rabindranath Tagore.”
Purkayastha emphasized that “Amar Sonar Bangla” is not just Bangladesh’s anthem but a cultural expression deeply rooted in the shared heritage of Bengalis across both sides of the border.
He argued that the BJP was attempting to polarize the issue for electoral gain and to malign the Congress among Assamese voters by projecting Bengali cultural expressions as “anti-national.”
TMC’s Reaction: ‘Amar Sonar Bangla Is an Emotion for All Bengalis’
The Trinamool Congress (TMC), which governs neighbouring West Bengal, also weighed in on the controversy.
TMC MP Mahua Moitra took to social media platform X (formerly Twitter) to defend the cultural value of the song.
“‘Amar Sonar Bangla’ is an emotion for Bengalis and was written by Rabindranath Tagore in 1905 to protest the partition of Bengal by the British. The first ten lines were adopted as Bangladesh’s national anthem only in 1971,” she wrote.
Moitra added that it was wrong to politicize the song or equate its performance with disloyalty to India. “It is an emotion for all of us Bengalis,” she said, reinforcing the argument that the song predates Bangladesh’s independence and belongs to Bengal’s broader cultural identity.
The Larger Context: Culture, Politics, and Identity in Assam
Assam’s location along the India-Bangladesh border and its complex demographic mix have made identity politics a recurring theme in the state’s political discourse. The 1980s Assam Movement and subsequent updates to the National Register of Citizens (NRC) have centered around the issue of illegal immigration and the preservation of Assamese identity.
Against this backdrop, the singing of “Amar Sonar Bangla”—regardless of intent—touches deep political and emotional sensitivities. The BJP has built much of its political strength in Assam by positioning itself as the protector of Assamese identity and the opponent of illegal immigration.
The Congress, on the other hand, has often been portrayed by its rivals as being sympathetic to minorities and migrants, a perception the BJP has repeatedly used to its advantage.
While the Congress insists that the song’s inclusion was purely cultural and linked to Tagore’s legacy, the BJP views it as a political statement with cross-border implications.
Conclusion: Politics Over a Poem
The controversy over “Amar Sonar Bangla” in Assam has once again highlighted how deeply intertwined culture and politics are in India’s border regions. What began as a brief performance by an elderly poet at a local Congress event has escalated into a national debate involving charges of anti-nationalism, cultural ignorance, and electoral opportunism.
For the BJP, the incident reinforces its narrative about Congress’s alleged appeasement of “illegal immigrants” and indifference to national sentiment. For the Congress, it is yet another example of the BJP’s “manufactured outrage” and ignorance of India’s rich cultural diversity.
As the political sparring continues, one thing remains clear: a song written more than a century ago to protest colonial rule has once again become a flashpoint in modern India’s battle over identity, nationalism, and the politics of belonging.
Leave a Reply