Did Basanta Utsab row hurt Rabindra Bharati University's image? Incident draws mixed response

On Thursday this week, social media was flooded with images of a group of young students, who were later identified as outsiders, who had written with abir (coloured powder) cuss words- read vulgar Bengali slangs- on their bodies while celebrating the annual Basanta Utsab, a tradition inspired by Bengali cultural icon Rabindranath Tagore. The students had lampooned a song of Tagore.

While the youngsters' actions were condemned on social media, mostly Facebook, IBNS draws some disparate reactions to the entire incident.

Speaking to IBNS, Head of the Department of Mass Communication and Videography, Dr. Debjyoti Chanda, said, "The entire thing which has happened is unwarranted. It has caused great pain to the entire RBU community. I think the authority should be very careful while organising Basanta Utsab from the next time.

"No single entity should be given the entire responsibility to organise the programme. A committee comprising all concerned people including the professors must be formed."

"The incident has greatly damaged the university's image," Chanda added.

Following the incident, RBU authority on Friday lodged a complaint with the Sinthee Police Station while five students of that group, including three girls and two boys, arrived at the university campus and apologised. 

A senior official of Kolkata Police on Saturday said that they had constituted an investigation team, comprising few cyber crime experts, to probe the matter and also to examine the authenticity of the images and videos of the controversial incident, which went viral on social media. 

Actress Devlina Kumar, who is a former student and present teacher of RBU, has not only condemned the incident but also vehemently criticised the students who were accused of using the cuss words.

Terming the incident as one of "poor quality", Kumar in a Facebook video said, "It has been proved that the students were not from our university. But whichever university they belong to, I would like to ask them did they get this sort of education from their parents, teachers and friends? Do they follow this kind of a culture? Why so?"

"You may follow a culture or not, but why distort it? Why you are so negative?" the popular Bengali actress was heard saying.

Though immediately after the incident, RBU vice chancellor Sabyasachi Basu Roy Chowdhury had submitted his resignation to Chancellor and West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar, state Education Minister Partha Chatterjee had urged professor Chowdhury to continue with his job.

Chatterjee had reportedly said Chowdhury was not responsible for the event.

On Saturday late evening, Chowdhury withdrew his resignation.

Though professor Dr. Chanda felt the image of RBU was heavily compromised by the incident, former research scholar of the same university, Dr. Amartya Saha, feels otherwise.

"I personally feel the actions of four or five or eight individuals can't put a blemish on such a huge organisation. The Basanta Utsab of RBU is far a greater celebration than just few pictures which went viral on social media," Dr. Saha told IBNS.

In almost the same words, Bangladeshi actor and former RBU student, Gazi Abdun Noor, wrote on Facebook, "All are allowed to enter temple, mosque, church but who is held responsible if anyone does misdeeds there!!! Rabindra Bharati University is like temple, mosque, church to us. So our university is not disrespected at all in any way."

Condemning of the incident, state Education Minister Chatterjee had said, "I don't have enough words to condemn of such incident, I just can't believe that these students did these things to malign Tagore and his songs."