Workshop not to be held in Visva-Bharati following controversy

The Visva-Bharati on Monday said it has not given permission to an organisation allegedly close to the saffron camp to hold a national workshop on heritage and culture, and the programme is not taking place at the university founded by Rabindra Nath Tagore. The two-day programme, which has triggered a controversy in the central university, will now be held from Tuesday at Bolpur neighbouring Santiniketan where the central university is located, organisers Rashtriya Kala Manch said.

"We have formally informed the organisers that there are some problems in hosting the workshop and we are not giving permission to organise it," Visva-Bharati spokesperson Anirvan Sarkar said without elaborating. A section of Visva-Bharati's students and faculty members have alleged that by collaborating with the Rashtriya Kala Manch for the workshop the 98-year-old institute is allowing organisations close to saffron outfits to set up their base in it.

Sarkar, however, said the university was not collaborating with the Manch to host the workshop. "They had sought permission to organise the programme and the Visva-Bharati decided against granting permission to it after due consideration on Sunday," he said.

All the arrangements have been made to organise the programme at Visva-Bharati but "they had informed us at the last minute that the permission has to be withdrawn due to some reasons," Tanmoy Dash of Rashtriya Kala Manch told PTI. Now, the programme to be attended by around 500 participants from across the country will be held at Bolpur, he said.

Expressing happiness over the development, a leader of SFI's Visvabharati unit Somnath Sau said, "We are not opposed to a workshop on art and culture. But we are against the entry of the Rashtriya Kala Manch, an organisation known for its proximity to the Viswa Hindu Parishad." Sudipto Bhattacharya, a professor of the university, said it is the victory of those who believe in Tagore's philosophy and vision of Visva Bharati and India. However, everybody was not happy in the institute.

A professor, who does not wish to be named, said, "The last minute cancellation is at the behest of some forces who want to trigger a controversy over an initiative which would have made the present generation more aware about our heritage and culture." Shivaprasad K Achar, one of the coordinators of the programme, said Rashtriya Kala Manch is working towards promoting art and culture among the people and has no political leanings..

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