West Bengal Governor posts photo sitting at Curzon's 'iconic table'; 'are you collecting General Dyer memorabilia too' asks Twitter

West Bengal Governor posts photo sitting at Curzon's 'iconic table'; 'are you collecting General Dyer memorabilia too' asks Twitter

After the Governor posted a photo of himself recording a new year message for the people of West Bengal, he was trolled on Twitter.

FPJ Web DeskUpdated: Tuesday, December 31, 2019, 06:35 PM IST
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Photo: Jagdeep Dhankhar/Twitter

In recent times, West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar has had rather strange interactions with many on Twitter. And New Year's Eve was no exception.

After the Governor posted a photo of himself recording a new year message for the people of West Bengal, he was trolled on Twitter.

Why?

Because, as he wrote on Twitter, he was sitting "on the iconic table from which Lord Curzon signed first Partition of Bengal in 1905".

Now, the Partition of Bengal is not a topic that many in the state want to mull fondly over. So, Dhankhar's terming of the table as being "iconic" did not go down very well with the people of Bengal.

Several social media users lambasted the governor, claiming that he glorified Partition in his tweet.

Two eminent authors, who had witnessed and experienced the horrors of Bengal division in 1947, said the word "iconic" was wrongly used by Dhankhar.

Senior TMC leader and state panchayat minister Subrata Mukherjee termed Tuesday's episode "unfortunate".

"We want to forget the episode of Partition of Bengal. It (Dhankhar's tweet) is unfortunate," he said.

Author Sirshendu Mukhopadhyay said the word "iconic" should not have been used in the tweet.

"I think he misunderstood the entire thing. The word 'iconic' should not have been used. The governor has wrongly used the word," he stated.

Echoing his sentiments, litterateur Prafulla Roy said, "Partition was painful. The word wasn't used in the right context."

Dhankhar however was not deterred. He tried to clarify a few hours later with a follow-up tweet where he called himself a "humble servant of the people".

For those who are wondering what exactly his faux pas was, let us tell you a bit about the 1905 partition.

The Partition was a territorial reorganisation of Bengal in the time of the British Raj. It was announced by the then Viceroy of India, Lord Curzon. Bengal at that time comprised of West Bengal, Bihar, parts of Chhattisgarh, Orissa and Assam. The Partition essentially divided the largely Muslim eastern areas from the largely Hindu western areas of the state, making Hindus a minority in a province that incorporated the provinces of Bihar and Orissa. The partition also gave impetus to Muslims to form separate national organisations on communal lines.

The partition was revoked in 1911 in order to appease Bengali sentiments.

Now, keeping this backdrop in mind, take a look at what Twitter users had to say:

This is not the only time the Governor has made the news recently. Amid virtual spats with politicians in the state, Dhankhar was also "rusticated" by students of Jadavpur University recently.

In an "open letter" that addressed Dhankhar as 'Ex- Chancellor', two students' bodies alleged that the governor was present on university premises in the evening of September 19 "along with miscreants who hurled bombs, sexually assaulted women and vandalised sections of the university".

It claimed Dhankhar arrived uninvited to JU on December 22.

"We have investigated your behaviour and motives and come to the conclusion that they are shameless attempts to seek attention from students, thereby wasting our valuable time," the letter said.

The letter said as part of the ongoing "evaluation" of university officials by students, the governor was asked a number of questions about the NRC, National Population Register, CAA and the violence targeting students, including Muslims, and his response was found "unsatisfactory".

"Keeping the above in mind, you are being informed of your rustication from the position of Chancellor of JU. The students' body of Jadavpur University has also decided to disown you from the position of the Hon'ble Governor of West Bengal," the letter, made available to media, said.

A report card that was attached to the letter, described Dhankhar's general knowledge as "less than satisfactory" and said his sense of history was "nil", and overall character "spineless".

(With inputs from agencies)

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