(This piece was first published on 14 November, 2025. It is being reposted in light of 150 years of Vande Mataram and the debate in the Lok Sabha about the same.)
In West Bengal, politics and poetry often blur. And the latest storm over authors Rabindranath Tagore and Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay reflects how the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) still fails to catch the political pulse of the state.
Bengal’s cultural identity has always been expansive, not exclusionary. From Bankim and Tagore, to Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar and Kazi Nazrul Islam, Bengal reveres its icons for their secular intellect, not religious ideology. In homes across the state, children grow up singing both Rabindrasangeet and Nazrul Geeti, a reflection of Bengal’s pluralistic and self-assured cultural soul.
However, political opportunism is attempting to fracture this harmony as elections draw near. The BJP's attacks on Mamata Banerjee for promoting Tagore’s Amar Sonar Bangla—also Bangladesh’s national anthem—reflect a shallow understanding of Bengal’s emotional landscape. Imported from Delhi's playbook, these debates alienate Bengali voters and bolster Mamata's position within the state.
Local BJP leaders privately acknowledge that subnational pride cannot be countered through cultural confrontation. Yet, Delhi’s overreach and Hindi-centric politics keep earning the BJP the “anti-Bengal” tag—a narrative that Mamata has turned into her most potent weapon.