A mural of Rabindranath Tagore at Bangladesh's Khulna railway station was defaced with black ink on Friday. Unidentified people splashed ink on the portrait, while anti-India posters appeared nearby. Police started an investigation into the vandalism. KCC Administrator Nazrul Islam Manju said those responsible had exposed their "sick mentality" today.
A mural of Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore at Bangladesh's Khulna railway station has been defaced with black ink by unidentified individuals, triggering widespread criticism. Citing local media reports, PTI reported that the incident came to light on Friday morning when residents noticed that black ink had been splashed across Tagore's portrait on a boundary wall of the railway station. The mural was part of a larger artwork commissioned by the Khulna City Corporation (KCC), featuring prominent personalities who have contributed to the region's art, literature and cultural heritage. Portraits of Fakir Lalon Shah, painter SM Sultan, Kazi Nazrul Islam, former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, former President Ziaur Rahman and Michael Madhusudan Dutta were also featured on the wall but were left untouched.
The artwork additionally depicted the July uprising, the Sundarbans, the Sixty Dome Mosque and Bangladesh's jute industry. Quoting The Daily Star, PTI reported that the KCC had commissioned the murals ahead of Prime Minister Tarique Rahman's visit to Khulna. Khulna Sadar police station officer-in-charge Lokman Hossain said police were informed about the vandalism on Friday afternoon and had initiated an investigation. Hossain said identifying those responsible could prove difficult as businesses across the road were shut on Friday, making it challenging to establish when the mural was defaced.
According to PTI, two posters were also found beside the damaged portrait. One of them carried an anti-Tagore message, stating: "There is no place for Tagore, who was hostile to Muslims and East Bengal, in Titumir's Bengal. There is no place for glorifying India." The incident drew a strong reaction from KCC Administrator Nazrul Islam Manju, who said the portraits were intended to encourage independent thinking among children and adolescents. Describing the act as an expression of narrow-mindedness, Manju said those responsible had exposed their "sick mentality", according to The Dhaka Tribune.
Cultural activist and Nattyalok General Secretary Shariful Islam Salim suspected the involvement of an organised group, alleging that similar incidents had taken place in Dhaka. Salim said Tagore's literary works and philosophy had inspired generations to embrace free thought, secularism and human dignity, The Daily Star reported.