Tagore’s Sculpture in Dhaka Varsity Vanishes at Night; Students Find and Reinstall it

Dhaka: The incident of Nobel laureate poet Rabindranath Tagore's sculpture being installed, removed, and then restored in a damaged state with missing elements, is a reflection of the ongoing censorship and oppression in Bangladesh. The sculpture was created by students of Dhaka University's Faculty of Fine Arts as a protest against the suppression of free speech and expression.

The students' message was that no protest can be ended, as they restored the sculpture after it was removed by the university administration. The missing elements of the sculpture, such as the nailed 'Gitanjali' and the taped mouth of Kabiguru, as Tagore is referred to, signify the suppression of creativity and free thinking in the country. The incident drew criticism from people across the country and highlighted the need to uphold values such as freedom of speech and expression.

A killer nail has pierced the chest of 'Gitanjali', the collection of Tagore’s poems that received the Nobel Prize a century ago. Holding it in his hand, with a sad face closed with tape, the poet Rabindranath Tagore is standing next to the Raju sculpture next to the Teacher-Student Centre (TSC) of Dhaka University.

A 19.5 feet tall sculpture of Tagore has now been constructed by a group of students at Dhaka University's Faculty of Fine Arts to protest the ongoing censorship and oppression in Bangladesh. On February 14 (Tuesday) afternoon, this sculpture of Tagore was installed next to the Raju sculpture, adjacent to the TSC of the university, catching everyone's attention.

The students who built the sculpture said it was created to raise awareness about the importance of freedom of speech and expression.

For instance, this year's ‘Ekushey Book Fair’ did not allow a stall for Adarsh Publications. Then the Censor Board took time to give clearance to film director Mustafa Saryar Farooqui's 'Shanibar Bikel', followed by the arrest and harassment of journalists under the Digital Security Act.

In response, a sculpture of a speechless and depressed Rabindranath Tagore was built using the hand of a nailed Gitanjali. Tagore is widely seen as a symbol of free thinking and creativity, and it is important to remember that these values are essential to our society, say the students.

But, on February 16, Tagore’s statue was no longer there. Nobody knows where it disappeared. Dhaka University authorities reportedly removed the sculpture, whose creators were outraged. In protest, they hung banners reading: 'Rabindranath has disappeared!' The incident sparked outrage in Bangladesh.

One of the sculptors is Shimul Kumbhkar, a student of Dhaka University's Faculty of Fine Arts and leader of Dhaka University's Left-wing student organisation, Chhatra Union. In a press statement, he said: “The removal of the sculpture in the dark of the night by the university administration no longer surprises us. This is a continuation of the ongoing 'censorship' policy. In the sculpture, this political culture going on in the country has been highlighted as a protest. Significantly, just as the state suppressed expression, the university's proxy administration suppressed an anti-repression effort in the same way.”

But the incident did not end there. Tagore’s statue was back two days after its disappearance, with broken arms and legs. However, now he does not hold the nailed "Gitanjali," and a portion of his mouth is also broken.

After the sculpture was removed by the university administration in the dark of the night, the makers of the sculpture did not stop. They found out where the sculpture was kept. It was found inside the historic Suhrawardy Udyan next to TSC.

On February 18, it was restored. The sculpture, as it stands now, is essentially a remnant of the earlier sculpture. Rabindranath Tagore stands holding the Gitanjali, bloodied from the nail driven into the sculpture. And Kabiguru's mouth is taped, as if he was not allowed to speak.

Kumbhakar said: 'No protest can be ended. That is the message we wanted to convey by restoring the sculpture.”